


Play it Again, Ruby

by Past_SutureStein



Series: Music be the Food of Love [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Backround bees, Beacon (RWBY) Didn't Fall, Big Sis Yang, Character Study, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Helpful Blake, Mystery, Slow Burn, Songfic, White Rose - Freeform, cardin's a jerk, more like medium burn, onlykinda songfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25755157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Past_SutureStein/pseuds/Past_SutureStein
Summary: Weiss has a problem. Well, two problems. Okay, two problems and feelings. People know her secret and are totally chill about it-this confuses Weiss. There is also a song stuck in her head aaaaand she may be staring at her partner too much. Both she and Ruby are oblivious dorks and Bumblebee just wants to help them out.OrWeiss is fairly useless and in denial. Someone help her please.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Series: Music be the Food of Love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1937785
Comments: 41
Kudos: 150





	1. Earworm

**Author's Note:**

> Had a tiny idea kicking around for some time. Was really just one or two scenes...and then I started writing it. Please leave comments or critiques. Enjoy these WhiteRose dorks. Haven't posted anything before so we'll see how it goes!  
>   
> Thanks so much to the folks who beta'd for me:  
> [PhoenixCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixCat) and [Matchappreciated](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matchappreciated)
> 
> Obviously I don't own RWBY or anything like that, probably for the best.

Weiss was humming in the shower. It wasn’t really a new or unexpected activity—provided she was confident her teammates were not expected back in the dorm—she often did vocal warm-ups or sung a song or two to keep her singing voice in peak condition. She never knew if her father would suddenly demand that she perform for one of the business meetings he disguised as parties or banquets. It wouldn’t be proper if she were to let her skills diminish; heaven forbid a Schnee be less than perfect. Besides, she happened to enjoy singing and, yes, was well aware she was quite talented. She did tend to be cautious though, since her father had made performing such an expectation and task for her, it had robbed the activity of much of its natural joy. Even if someone as close as her teammates were listening, she felt it had to be at performance level, and that was stress she didn’t need while trying to unwind and get clean. She had gotten caught on a couple of occasions, just not by more than one person at a time. Each member of team RWBY knew of her singing voice, but since she’d managed to only have it happen one-on-one, she had convinced each of them to keep quiet about it. Reflecting on the occurrences, she was pleasantly surprised none of them had pressed the issue too much, Yang especially. 

No, singing and humming wasn’t outside the normal realm. The issue was she had no idea in Remnant  _ what _ she was humming. Often she could measure her time in the shower with a variety of song combinations. Today, and in fact the past couple of days the so-called “playlist” she sang kept getting derailed by about 8-16 bars of a song and she had no clue what it was. If she had been humming the entire song, at least she could have felt accomplished and left the musing about its origin for another time. As it currently stood, she could consciously hum what she guessed was the chorus and then… nothing else. Her knowledge of music had no hopes of deciphering it, and it certainly wasn’t anything classical she had grown up learning. It had to be something she had heard while attending Beacon. Unfortunately, that did little to narrow it down for her; here, there was a plethora of students playing music with little regard for their fellow classmates and school rules. 

_ “Put that away, I don’t care if Port puts you to sleep, Yang!” _

_ “Ruby, how are we supposed to train effectively and hear your calls with that racket blaring?” _

Even just considering her fellow classmates would make for a large pool of opportunity. If she also took into account the numerous occasions she had gone into Vale, then her list could stretch all the way to Atlas and back. Especially with Yang’s usual choice of… establishments; why anyone wanted their eardrums and eyes to be assaulted in such a way, Weiss could not comprehend.

The melody drifted through her brain once more, cutting off her train of thought as she rinsed her hair to its beat. The fun went until her brain reached for the next handful of notes, came up empty, and ended at the same abrupt spot that really shouldn’t be so jarring based on how many times it had run its course. Weiss growled in frustration. When her father had tried dissuading her from attending Beacon she had easily ignored him. She had already thought of counter arguments to everything he brought up and was determined to be away from his grasp. If she’d thought something as simple as an earworm would be so infuriating, perhaps she would have listened to him. She shuddered at the thought, water temperature notwithstanding. Weiss would rather have ten annoying songs stuck in her head than undergo whatever  _ his _ plans for her education had been. 

Weiss realized she was done showering and had now been standing there long enough for her fingers to start to prune. Quickly shutting off the water and grabbing her towel, she resolved to deal with her musical conundrum in a more appropriate venue; one without a constant barrage of water and more research tools.

* * *

After drying off and making herself presentable again, Weiss headed out of the dorm to meet her team and team JNPR, sans Ruby and Jaune who had a leader meeting, for dinner. They would likely be rejoining the rest of the group in a half hour. Jaune would probably fret over anything from a weekly team assessment to wondering if his shoes had been untied during the entire meeting. Ruby would be bubbling over with excitement about an upcoming mission or new team attack they got to add to their training repertoire. Early on, it was refreshing to see her leader so eager over team training plans. Of course, she might just be excited about the occasional cookies at the leader meeting. Weiss had curbed her expectations after the second time Ruby’s added pep in her step was because of a handful of snickerdoodles. She was still proud that the excitable girl had taken her leadership seriously but after almost two years that was a given. They had all grown into their roles on the team quite well at this point. Ruby could be a great team leader and still be a dork about cookies. One of those two reasons, Weiss had quickly learned, was the likely cause when Ruby was happier than usual. If Weiss felt a surge of warmth hearing her partner gush about a homemade chocolate chip cookie recipe… Well, that was surely just because of the carryover from being pleased when Ruby was describing a new team combo.

The first time that had happened and been summarily dismissed was part way through their first year. While waiting for their team leaders, they ruminated on whether they thought the midterms would be discussed. Someone mentioned the idea of being dropped in Forever Fall and Yang had said something about Ruby loving camping, so she’d be over the moon. Out of nowhere Weiss brought up the cookies, citing that if Ruby burst in they’d still have to wait for her to calm down to find out if it was cookies or camping related. Weiss was a bit stunned at herself but no one brought up the odd transition.

The conversion turned to wondering about the refreshments at the meetings, so Weiss figured it wasn’t as odd as she initially thought and moved on. At least it appeared that someone was reminding Ozpin that the extra meeting for leaders was cutting into the students’ dinner time. Weiss had put her money on Professor Goodwitch, but Yang was convinced it was Prof-Doctor Oobleck. She claimed that the quantity of caffeine the man ingested warranted bringing more coffee and snacks to any meetings he attended. Blake hadn’t cared enough to chip in and Weiss had dropped it, seeing as they had no idea who attended these meetings aside from the team leaders. When Ruby and Jaune had caught up with them, the conversation had moved on and the two of them were focused on getting real food, anyway, so they had never bothered asking.

Weiss mentally shook herself at the odd memory. Unsure of any connection, if there was any, between it and the unknown melody that was plaguing her thoughts. Pushing both away, Weiss stepped into the dining hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took awhile to get here but it's finally okay enough to post.
> 
> Going to try updating every week until it's done. Already have a couple more chapters ready for editing. Probably be about 7ish chapters? And I've already got future plans for another story or two in this particular au. So for all you Bumblebee shippers out there, just you wait.


	2. The Great Pancake Demolition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just the average dinner with the gang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated to rated T. Some light occasional swearing, will tag chapters ahead of time, the only thing I can think of is an upcoming chapter with a certain Faunas that has to get Weiss talking about feelingsTM... but yeah. If you see a problem, especially with potential triggers or rating issues, please let me know.  
> Not much in the way of WR, I know... But I promise, just wait for the next chapter. :3 Enjoy these dorks!
> 
> I MADE THE FORMATTING WORK! also really sorry if the people with subscribe or bookmark (I have subscribers... O.O) just got like... 10 notices that this updated. Hopefully I've figured Ao3 formatting now and can post like a sane person.

The cafeteria food, as deplorable as it could be at times, was at least easily accessible. Not everyone had the monetary capabilities that Weiss did if she felt so inclined. Her father could still control her bank accounts, but the fact that he might elect to freeze them was only one reason she frequented the school’s paltry attempts at cuisine. She might put on airs around most of her fellow classmates and she did have several acceptable reasons to offer up, one such being it was more convenient. A more thought-out reason, and the one she touted as the biggest, was that by eating at Beacon most of the time it made the times she went out more special, or as a team reward for all of them doing exceptionally well on a test.

While all those reasons were true, Weiss was still lying to herself. Her teammates and team JNPR, her first real friends, were, without a doubt, the true cause for her to look forward to meal times. Dust knows it wasn’t ‘Fish Friday;’ someone really needed to inform the staff about that, but she suspected her cries would go unheard. The unexpected camaraderie and enjoyment Weiss eventually got out of sharing meals with her friends was so uniquely genuine, she discovered just how distant her home meals had felt. Dinners on ridiculously long tables with limited conversation, or flat out eaten alone had left Weiss unaware that eating could be anything more than consuming pleasant-tasting food that provided nutrients to your body. With each time she ate in the school’s cafeteria, she relaxed herself into its chaotic nature more and more. For example: Nora and Yang had the occasional eating contest while Blake managed to read, eat, not dirty her book, or get hit by raining food debris. Seeing how Ren kept up with Nora’s antics while maintaining a conversation with Pyrrha or Jaune was also an interesting study in multitasking. And of course getting Ruby to eat something besides strawberries and cookies could sometimes be an undertaking in and of itself.

They were all bits of chaos Weiss had initially found to be irritating, but over time, she not only expected but ultimately looked forward to. Occurrences like the food fight changed from something completely appalling into just a silly way to blow off steam. Weiss wasn’t fully convinced it was a normal school cafeteria experience, she just had no proof otherwise. It was something she was slow to realize, but each crazy plan and every wacky hijinks forced her to acknowledge that she didn’t have anything to compare it to. These were her first real friends and she was in an environment that wasn’t carefully constructed by her father and his machinations. So even if this was different from other places, her friends all went about their meals like it was completely normal, so Weiss figured it had to be. At least as normal as a giant group of teenagers training to hunt down Grimm could be.

By the time Weiss arrived at the cafeteria she had managed to forget all about the song that was slowly driving her up a wall. Upon grabbing her tray and selecting her meal for the evening, she turned to see if anyone else from the group was here. She hardly needed to search. Sat in the middle of a clearing made of about two empty tables in each direction, it appeared Nora was attempting to recreate a CCT tower using pancakes. Weiss sighed as she made her way over to sit with her somewhat incorrigible, if not idiotic, teammates.

“Alright, who let Nora even have access to that many pancakes? And Nora, how in Remnant can you attempt to eat that much? Physics dictates that one can’t actually eat one’s own weight in food," Weiss sat down next to Blake and across from Pyrrha, the farthest spot she could take, on the opposite side of the table from Nora's impending bellyache. "If not in weight then at least sheer volume.”

While she was confident Nora didn’t want to waste pancakes by having them fall all over the floor, she’d rather not take the chance. If the tower started to topple, Weiss intended to be ready with a glyph and the ability to use Yang as a shield. The blonde in question was of course the closest, besides Ren, and most likely had encouraged Nora, if not directly aided with the construction.

“PAH! Physics! Who needs physics when you can have pancakes instead?” Nora had clearly been considering the best plan of attack to pour syrup on the monolith when Weiss approached.

“Well, if you are endeavoring to eat that--which, let the record stand, I do not recommend or see as humanly possible--if you wait too long, Ruby and Jaune will get here and Ruby might try to beat you to it.” Weiss knew this wasn’t true. Ruby knew as well as anyone not to get between Nora and her pancakes, plus she wasn’t even as brash as Yang to teasingly threaten such actions. She was pretty sure everyone else at the table, including Nora, knew it, too. Weiss had meant it as a joke after all. She enjoyed getting in her share of ribbing too; waiting for the right moments just made her more selective, which added the element of being able to catch everyone by surprise. Based on the face Nora was making and the gasp she uttered, the Heiress wondered if she needed to work on her ‘joking voice,’ or if Nora was just playing along. Since the orange-haired girl’s next action was to down the syrup she was still holding and attack the not-so-short stack, Weiss suspected it was the latter.

“Well, since it looks like Nora’s evening will either be a sugar coma or the world’s biggest stomach ache, what are everyone else’s plans for tonight?” Weiss asked as she began to eat her own dinner before Nora’s spectacle made her lose her appetite. She might be socially ignorant in some things, but inquiring about immediate plans was almost always an easy conversation starter.

“It depends on the outcome of the leaders’ meeting for us.” Pyrrha was the first to speak up. “If Jaune comes back with news of an upcoming mission or team strategy, we’ll probably go run a couple drills. If not, we might stay in with a movie or the like. Of course, training might just be Jaune and I if Nora does become… indisposed, at which point I’m guessing you’d be sticking around in case she needs anything, Ren?” Pyrrha inquired, successfully bouncing the burden of conversation elsewhere. Part of her hoped Jaune didn’t come back with pressing team duties for them. Though she didn’t want Nora to suffer, training with just Jaune would be her preference. He was a decent strategist already, but he still had catching up to do physically and training movement patterns and reactions took time. He had made significant progress, but the more capable he became in his own fighting, the more confident he got and the better he understood his team’s abilities and was able to strategize more efficiently. Plus, duty aside, she delighted in her time alone with Jaune. He treated her as an equal first and foremost. They might be leagues apart in combat, but they were still just teenagers training to become Hunters and Huntresses. She loved her team for that aspect. All of them being so far from home put them on more even footing and none of them let her combat prowess influence how they saw her. She might be better at picking up social cues than Jaune, but she was just as inexperienced as he was when it came to romantic relationships. Absently, she checked the time and pondered how long before he would arrive.

For his part, Ren had been keeping a consistent eye on the diminishing stack of pancakes, though to most it may have looked like he was engrossed in his own meal. Those who knew him better--just the people here at the table and the two leaders wrapping up in Ozpin’s office--knew that he was more aware of everything than it appeared at face value. They had looked at him after Pyrrha asked her question, awaiting his response; though a few of them had wondered how he kept up with all of Nora’s eccentricities with such a calm demeanor all the time.

“She’ll be fine. This isn’t the most Nora has managed in one sitting.” Ren internally relished the looks on his friends’ faces. They ranged from shocked to abject horror. Even Blake quirked an eyebrow from behind her book. Ren didn’t bother mentioning that the sitting in question was objectively longer than what most would say constitutes a single meal; he didn’t have to make up extra info to spice things up as Nora liked to do. He found simple truths to be much more effective. “But yes, she’ll most likely pass out for an hour,” Ren paused when he saw the concealed look of hope on Pyrrha’s face, “or two. By then her energy levels should stabilize to a point where she’ll do one of her workouts to burn off most of what she’s ingesting.” Nora paused just long enough to boop Ren on the nose. Whether that was just a sign of affection or if she was using charades to communicate was anyone’s guess. Everyone was thankful she’d chosen a silent communication method as her cheeks were stuffed with enough pancakes to make chipmunks jealous.

“Well then,” Yang broke through the small silence left when Nora had resumed eating. “We should definitely revisit that topic, sparing no details of such a meal, but maybe once Ruby and Jaune arrive. Back to the original question, I dunno about you, Weissicle, but I’m guessing Blakey here will hole herself up in the library until they kick her out. I’ll probably go drag her out before then, but if nothing else, she can help me with some of my homework.” Yang flashed a wide grin as her statement drew a scowl from Weiss and actually got Blake to glance away from her book with a flat look that said _Oh, I can, can I?_ Moving right past it, Yang looked over at Nora who was impressively most of the way done with her endeavor. Yang raised an eyebrow questioningly to which Nora’s response was the slightest nod of her head before she resumed eating. After their brief glance, Yang leaned forward, rested her face on her right hand and turned to look at Weiss.

“How about you, Ice Queen?” Another glare came her way, “Finally gonna take the town by ice storm and reign supreme? Declaring all must attend class and study 24/7?” Weiss likely hadn’t seen the barely concealed conspiratorial look Yang had given Nora, fleeting as it was. Just in case she had, though, Yang guessed her over the top razzing would successfully derail Weiss’ thoughts about it.

“Ha. Ha. How long have you been hanging onto that one? Or did it just take you this long to come up with it?” Weiss knew better than to keep feeding the blonde’s ego and need for attention, so she changed tactics. “As a matter of fact, I might have been considering treating my hardworking teammates to a nice dinner in Vale this weekend. Seeing as you do not seem to fit that description, I guess you’ll never know.” Weiss punctuated her statement with a saccharine-sweet smile. Yang merely stuck her tongue out in response, so Weiss decided to go back to the original topic. “While I may be caught up with course work for most of the semester, I can still benefit from going over the current material. I’m sure Ruby will need someone to keep—” Weiss’s sentence halted as her ears picked up someone humming.

Nora, as it happened, had managed to get her plate nearly emptied and was working on savoring the last few bites. While she did, she was gleefully humming to herself, seemingly oblivious to the teasing going on between Yang and Weiss. Only upon hearing her name called did she pause her pancake binge.

“Nora,” Weiss began, having snapped her head in the direction the humming came from, “what were you humming just now? And where did you--Holy… How are you not throwing up or bursting at the seams?!? No, you know what, I don’t want to know. That tune though, could you hum it again?” She disregarded the stares the table gave her, more determined to end the mystery of her musical annoyance.

“Sure, Weiss!” Nora chirped cheerfully though a mouth still partially filled. It was a testament to her love of the breakfast food that none managed to escape her mouth. She began humming again, however, she changed it slightly about halfway through. Nora finished swallowing the food in her mouth before replying, “It wasn’t really anything specific, just a cheery little ditty.”

“O-Oh. Right. Sorry, I… I overheard part of a song recently, but my lack of pop culture knowledge leaves me with no information to figure out what it was. No big deal. Whatever you were humming just reminded me of it was all.” Weiss let herself sink back into her seat. She could have sworn the tune Nora hummed had been the same one that kept popping up in her head.

If she hadn’t been staring at her lap reflecting and trying to avoid looking embarrassed, she might have seen the small wink Nora sent to Yang who received it with a smirk. Ren and Blake simply gave a small eye roll at their partners’ antics but said nothing. They supposed it wasn’t too heavy-handed an action and wouldn’t influence the overall outcome of their bet. If they tried to fight the issue, it would just be met with claims that the situation was completely unrelated and had no bearing. Regardless, new arrivals froze any other further thoughts on the matter before they could be acted on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, a couple small edits were made to chapter 1. Just a couple word choice or sentence changes to make it flow a bit better. If you already read it you probably won't notice.  
>   
> Once again a big thanks to my beta's  
> [PhoenixCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixCat) and [Matchappreciated](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matchappreciated)


	3. Blush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Jaune arrive. Cardin's a jerk.
> 
> Weiss, well... you'll see

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise update! I've gotten a bit ahead on my writing schedule. So even if it goes to shit I've got almost a month of regular updates in the editing phase.
> 
> Here ya go I guess, wanted to give you guys an actual bit of WR interaction.
> 
> As always, thanks to my beta's- go check 'em out  
> [PhoenixCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixCat) and [Matchappreciated](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matchappreciated)

“Hey, guys!” Ruby, having only gotten a few feet into the dining hall before waving her arm above her head to get their attention, called out to them. 

Weiss watched as the leaders trickled in from the door Ruby had just come through, noting that Jaune had managed to keep up with the speedy girl. Before she turned back to her meal, she also saw that Cardin had entered not far behind the two of them and didn’t seem to care that Ruby and Jaune had slowed their stride now that they’d reached their destination. Weiss’ brow creased in anger when she saw Cardin push through them without pausing, throwing Ruby off-kilter with his superior height. She stilled when she saw Yang start to rise with a fist already clenched to head him off. Finally, Weiss let out a small breath of relief when Blake shook her head as she laid a hand on Yang’s forearm and got her to sit back down. Just as Yang let out a large breath of her own, their team leaders got close enough for the table to hear what they were saying.

“-lite to say, ‘Excuse me,’ you know!” Jaune had been able to respond first. Since he had been to the side of the aisle already and hadn’t been directly pushed as Ruby. She was still fixing her cape from how it had gotten twisted.

Blatantly ignoring Jaune’s input, Cardin barely slowed to shrug his shoulders, not bothering to even appear apologetic as he made his way to the food line. “Sorry, maybe you shouldn’t stand in people’s way. Didn’t realize you were all such delicate flowers. Guess I should have figured as much, what with the people on your team. Maybe you should spend more time training, small fry. Just ‘cauz you’re all girls doesn’t mean you can just get by on test scores. CRDL is gonna mop the floor with you guys next week either way, so I guess it doesn’t matter.” 

Jaune shook his head in disappointed acceptance and patted Ruby on the shoulder as they walked the rest of the way to the table their teams were sharing. He walked around the end to sit next to Pyrrha as Ruby sunk into her seat next to Yang. While Weiss had noticed Pyrrha had an extra plate set to the side she had correctly guessed was for Jaune, it was only now she saw one on the other side of Yang, clearly there for Ruby. Only once the two leaders began eating did the group relax a bit. None of them should have been terribly surprised at this point, yet Cardin always seemed to go above and beyond their expectations. It was Ruby who broke the awkward silence first.

“So, what have you guys been up to?” Ruby put on one of her usual smiles but Weiss suspected no one at the table bought it, herself especially; growing up she was well acquainted with a variety of phony smiles. It pained her to see one on Ruby, she realized. Weiss chalked it up to being her partner and not wanting to see Ruby hurt, but deeper inside she felt there was more to it than that.

“You missed The Great Pancake Demolition!” Yang proclaimed enthusiastically.

“Since when does it have a name?” Weiss could see what Yang was doing and decided to join in.

“Since right now.” There was just a hint of a challenge in Yang’s voice but her smile was genuine, Weiss noticed, seeming happy that Weiss had played along.

“Then call it what it was: nauseating.” Weiss let her own smirk touch the corner of her mouth before turning back to finish her meal as Nora jumped in to defend her culinary choices.

The spirits of everyone at the table rose as Jaune and Ruby got told of The Great Pancake Demolition. Ren didn’t have to correct her very much since the fact was already stranger than fiction. Of course the story turned out to have started this morning when there had been no pancakes and Nora had battled her way into the kitchen. Ren had stopped her from barging into the kitchen. After a lot of negotiating, she had somehow bribed the head cook to make more pancakes than one person could expect to eat. It was actually Ren who made them; he did it to save the poor school cooks from the force of nature that was Nora. Also so he could see the looks on everyone’s face when Nora polished off the entire pile so easily.

By the end of the short tale everyone was chuckling at Nora’s exuberant storytelling and Ruby was playfully bemoaning having missed it. “Not to worry,” Ren placated as he pulled out his scroll, “I filmed most of it.”

Having finished her dinner halfway through Nora’s story, Weiss got to silently enjoy more of the chaos that was her friends. She found her gaze drifted to Ruby more than anyone else. _That’s just to make sure she’s okay. I’m concerned for my partner’s mental well-being. Nothing out of the ordinary there, right?_ Weiss held onto her logic until she heard Ruby let out a small victory giggle in response as she reached for the offered scroll. At the sound, Weiss felt a warm tingle dance across her skin and what felt like a blush start to rise. She quickly turned her head and took a drink of water hoping no one noticed. Any chance she had at putting the sudden affectionate feeling out of her mind was almost immediately derailed.

“Yaaaaaang, why you gotta tease Weiss so much?” Ruby had gotten to the part in the video where Yang was indeed trying to get a rise out of Weiss.

Yang casually shrugged and draped an arm across Ruby’s shoulder, “I calls it like I sees it, Sis. You telling me you’re defending your partner’s desire to study all day?”

“Well, no. No offense, Weiss. That wouldn’t be healthy for anyone. But she said she’d been considering taking us out for all the hard work we’ve been doing! Dear sister, if you ruined a chance for me to stop for more sweets… There will be a reckoning!” Ruby ended her statement by holding her cookie in one hand and pointing at Yang in mock indignation.

“Sooooooo dramatic, I’m shaking, Sis. Sit down or you’ll miss Nora finishing the rest in record time.” Yang gestured back towards the scroll still playing the last bit of the video.

Ruby refocused while nibbling on her cookie, watching in awe as the remaining pile of fluffy pancakes got devoured. Until her ear caught something coming through the speakers and turned the volume up. Ruby’s eyes grew wide as she slowly looked up at Nora. “Hey, what’s that you’re hum-”

_CRASH!_

They all jumped at the sudden noise and turned to see what caused it. In one fluid motion Yang tapped the pause button and slid the scroll back to Ren who immediately slipped it back into his pocket.

The noise was someone dropping their tray and falling forward into it. Based on the way Cardin and his team were positioned and laughing at the unfortunate student, one of them had likely caused it. Thankfully, it appeared the fallen student’s friends were nearby and helped them up and out of the cafeteria, making sure to shoot some glares back at the group of laughing goons.

With nothing else they could readily do, RWBY and JNPR turned and lowered themselves back into their seats. Yang recollapsing her gauntlets as she threw her hair back over her shoulder and let out a huff. “Seriously, how have they not been kicked out yet? How long do you give a bunch of bullies to straighten out before you stop giving them the training to be even more of a problem?”

“I’m still in the camp of, ‘break his legs.’ Anyone else? Where did that whole pushing thing come from anyway? I thought he backed off after Jaune kinda, you know, saved his life. Also, does he not remember Pyrrha thrashing his entire team? ” Nora looked around to see where everyone else was at on the leg-breaking angle.

Jaune just shrugged and reached for the pepper shaker. “I doubt breaking a bone would change much at this point. Once an asshole, always an asshole it would seem. He was like that pretty much the whole meeting. There was enough else going on with planning the team battles and he was quiet enough that Goodwitch didn’t call him on it.”

“Team battles?” Pyrrha inquired, hopefully steering the topic in a better direction.

“Does that mean we’ll be allowed to kick their asses? If he thinks his team can ‘wipe the floor’ with us he will be sorely mistaken. Emphasis on SORE.” Yang’s eyes flashed red for the briefest of seconds and her previous annoyance got replaced with a wicked grin.

Ruby’s eyes lit up as she began explaining what happened in the meeting. With the tournament not too far off, they were going to start having teams battle each other to be better prepared for how they would be battling in the tournament should they wish to compete. “I asked if there were any special requirements for entering and when teams could start officially signing up. That’s when Cardin actually started to participate in the meeting.” Ruby sighed and poked at her food with her fork.

“If you can call laughing and mocking participating.” Jaupe piped up through his own mouthful before accepting the napkin Pyrrha handed him with a small, bashful smile of thanks.

“Yeah… He insinuated that since we’re all girls, we shouldn’t even bother and to let the ‘real hunters’ take care of it. Goodwitch did cut him off with the fact that team combat rankings haven’t been updated since the start of the year, so no one should underestimate any other team based on outdated information. Later in the meeting, our academic rating was also brought up. Apparently our teams are leading for our year. He more quietly kept mentioning that the fact that I was two years behind was the biggest problem we’d never overcome.”

Seeing Ruby’s mood drop from the excitement of the team battles to the look on her face now was well on its way to bringing the whole group down. Weiss felt her chest tighten as she tried to decide if she was more angry at Cardin or more upset that Ruby… that Ruby was sad. Weiss took a deep, steadying breath to reassure Ruby that Cardin’s accusations were completely false, but Yang beat her to it.

“ _WELL_ , that’s a load of shit!” Yang chuckled to herself and the tension around the table eased considerably. “Ruby, if some people apparently don’t realize you got here two years early _because_ of your combat skills, then they deserve to get what’s coming to them for assuming you’re weak. And as much as we," Yang paused at the look Blake gave her. "Okay, _I_ , tease Weiss about her studies, she is not the only one on the team. Our test scores are our own.”

“Absolutely. Just because you’ve had to study harder to keep up doesn’t make your work less valid.” Weiss’s breath hitched slightly when Ruby’s silver eyes turned to look at her but she pressed on doing her best to ignore the warm glow that gave her. “If anything, it does the opposite. You’ve managed to catch up in such a short time and keep your combat skills at performance level. On top of that, you’ve led our team and we’ve all grown because of it. Goodwitch was right-- CRDL may have done well at the start but they haven’t done much training as a team since. Most of us were used to fighting on our own and have since taken the time to become a well-functioning team. They’re just goons who were able to band together and fight like they always have. If it actually worked long term, Pyrrha wouldn’t have been able to defeat them all so easily.

“Admittedly, you can still come off as childish sometimes, but again, you’re two years younger. So what? All your,” Weiss paused and gestured vaguely in Ruby’s direction, “bubbly energy overflows so much it’s ridiculous, but it just adds to your charm.” Weiss ended her tirade with a self-satisfied huff and began to gather up her tray and utensils to return them. Only when she looked up and saw everyone staring at her did she pause again. 

“What? Did I spill something?” Weiss glanced nervously down at herself expecting stains.

“Just some hecking _TEA_! Damn, Ruby, looks like you’ve melted through some of the Ice Queen’s shields.” Yang was all but grinning like the cat that got the canary while Ruby started to take on a shade similar to her hood.

Weiss just glowered at Yang. “Don’t be such a nuisance, I’m simply stating facts. That’s all beside the point though. The original question was what our plans for this evening are. Should we run some more team drills to get ready for the tournament?” Weiss pointedly ignored Yang to direct the question at Ruby, doing her best not to let it show on her face how cute Ruby looked with the blush covering her cheeks, though the image would likely be filed away to think over on a more suitable occasion.

Ruby either regained her composure or wrangled it under control to be the team leader they knew she was. “I think we should spend a little time training, but only after we get through today’s homework if there’s enough time left before lights out. I know both Yang and I are going to need help with some of Doctor Ooblek’s stuff.” Ruby paused to see what her team thought of the idea. “Don’t give me that look, Yang. It’s true and you know it. The sooner we get the boring stuff out of the way, the more time we can spend honing techniques to use in the tournament. Plus we should wait a little bit after dinner before training to avoid cramps.”

“Fiiiiiiine, but only ‘cause you’re being all ‘team leader-y’ right now. Plus I have some ideas to float by you for combos we should try.” A smug look may have appeared on Weiss’ face at Yang’s groan but was definitely gone when the blonde turned to look at the resident Heiress. “Weiss, since you’re already finished, why don’t you go grab you and Ruby’s study materials so we can meet in the library?”

Ruby began to protest, “You don’t have to, I can get my own stuff!” She stuck her tongue out at Yang and gave her a small pout of indignation.

“Eat your dinner. Weiss probably knows what you need to work on the most anyway.” Yang stared Ruby down with just enough big sister vibes to make her comply.

Weiss just chuckled at the two sisters’ silliness. “It’s fine, Ruby. You do need to finish eating and Yang is correct about the homework.” Weiss paused with a grimace. “Excuse me while I go get a mint or something to get the weird taste of what I said out of my mouth. Then I’ll grab our supplies.”

Making her goodbyes and picking up her dirty tray, Weiss began making her way to the bus bin. She was pleased her teammates were choosing to rise above the jab and simply prove they were a more capable team than CRDL. They didn’t need to stoop to their level. Despite that, Weiss decided to let herself indulge in a more immediate bit of revenge as well. The tiny gravity glyph she placed under Cardin’s tray for all of two seconds would certainly be effective at that. 

* * *

Having finished his meal, Cardin stood up and reached to grab his tray. It seemed to have gotten something sticky on it, though, and had adhered to the table. Pulling a bit harder he suddenly found himself on the floor with the remaining contents of his dinner all over his front. One of his legs had still been between the bench and the table, which had caused him to become unbalanced. When his extra effort to pick up the tray had resulted in him lifting it much faster than he anticipated, he had jerked back to avoid ramming it into his face. He picked himself back up and stormed out after his laughing team, barely sparing a moment to shove the tray into a bus bin by the door. As CRDL left, no one had noticed Weiss, now headed out the opposite door. If Weiss had seen the fiasco, she pretended not to, only allowing herself a small smirk as she headed back towards her dorm to grab books for Ruby and herself.


	4. Talk about that TimeYang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss reminisces about when someone caught her singing

Moving on from Cardin and the impending tournament, Weiss reflected on what Yang’s actions had revealed about the brawler’s underlying nature. Weiss could tell when she was being excused from a situation, there had been far too many social events where she herself employed such tactics in order to politely leave a discussion. She wasn’t even particularly bothered by it, either. Weiss just wasn’t entirely sure why it seemed like Yang wanted to talk with Ruby with Weiss, specifically, gone.

She was Ruby’s partner; if Ruby needed something, shouldn’t Weiss be there and available? Though her own sisterly relationship might be different, Weiss could understand that Ruby and Yang wanted to have more privacy for a family talk. While that likely wasn’t the reason, seeing as Pyrrha was waiting with Jaune as he ate and Blake was still there, Weiss still elected to take the social cue. Then again, maybe there wasn’t an underlying reason Yang had suggested she grab the books rather than wait for Ruby to finish. She was finished with her meal and retrieving study materials was an efficient use of time.

So why did it feel like Yang had something she didn’t want Weiss to hear? Thinking over the conversation revealed nothing to her, except that it made her remember the awkward flutters and blushes that had come up in the conversation.

Weiss wasn’t completely socially blind. She may not have experienced these feelings herself before, but it wasn’t a hard stretch to know what they could be. She hadn’t gotten paraded around by her father like some prized animal to be auctioned off. Yet. But Winter had warned her of what Weiss’ future could hold if she didn’t act now.

She might be able to figure out what all the flutters and increases in heart rate around her partner meant, but she had absolutely no idea what to do about it. It was likely just because they spent so much time together and Ruby seemed to have little idea what personal space was.

In any case, Weiss figured it didn’t matter; there was too much else going on to allow such feelings to blossom. Well, that among many other reasons was why she elected to push those thoughts away for the time being. Or at least, she tried.

Was that what Yang was talking about with Ruby, or maybe even with Blake and JNPR as well? Had she picked up on Weiss’s burgeoning feelings? That thought sent her pulse racing. She’d never been interested in anyone before, romantically or physically so it was all very new and concerning for her. Hence another reason she was putting it off for later.

Weiss paused outside the dormroom to take a steadying breath and tell herself Yang wouldn’t do that, at least not in the mean way her anxiety was imagining. Weiss had grown past seeing Yang as a mindless brute ages ago, now the teasing between them was just that, not done out of anger or in an attempt to hurt one another. Team RWBY had seen Yang for much of what she was at this point: a strong component of their team, a caring and protective sister, and a somewhat ridiculous, but endearing party girl. All of them had leaned on Yang, figuratively and literally, at one point or another. They were all well-acquainted with her strength. Though she often pushed Ruby to handle problems herself, Weiss knew that Yang was always ready to drop whatever she was doing if Ruby needed help. Yang’s preferred taste in music and a night out on the town notwithstanding, Weiss was beginning to see that there was a bit more to the blonde than she had yet to discover. 

Even if Weiss told herself she wasn’t, she still looked at most interactions through the bias of her business-like upbringing. She’d come a long way but in one-on-one interactions there was still so much that she couldn’t quite process. Friendly or even familial gestures still came off as just part of their team dynamic. Since they were a team for their entire time at Beacon, there was an understandable amount of give and take in their lives. Getting each other coffee was an act of necessity as much as it was a nice thing to do. Weiss was usually on the lookout for making the score even, so to speak; like when someone saved her a spot in class, she’d return the favor at lunch. Seeing any of these actions as genuine selflessness was something Weiss was still working on. That kind of caring between Ruby and Yang she understood. They were sisters--different from her own, but she’d seen enough to know her own family did not really set the standard for affectionate interactions.

Weiss had also come to anticipate, if not occasionally look forward to, the altruistic nature that seemed to flow from Ruby. There seemed to be no power in Remnant that would stop the younger girl from being as sweet as the cookies she scarfed down. It had certainly been jarring, but being partnered with the speeding dolt had gotten her a front row seat to all the times Ruby proved that one didn’t have to be expecting a favor in return for being nice. That was how her interactions with Ruby went, though, so Weiss was unprepared when other people were genuinely nice to her, all for the sake of simply being nice. 

As Weiss gathered up the study materials she hummed to herself before getting stuck on her unknown melody again. With a sigh and a glance around the room to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, Weiss headed towards the library. The partial song had sparked old memories, so as she walked, she reflected over when Yang had found out about her singing ability. Seeing as it had happened only a couple months into their first year, Yang responding the way she had to the singing revelation had given Weiss pause.

* * *

In the moment, Weiss had misjudged how soon Yang would come back from sparring with Pyrrha, forgetting it was Tuesday. Yang liked to go all out, which, with the Invincible Girl, would usually mean a full workout routine interspersed with sparring, each designed to train specific skill sets. Tuesdays, however, Pyrrha focused her evening on training Jaune on the roof so Yang opted to burn herself out faster, resulting in her getting back to the dorm during Weiss’ own post-training shower. When Weiss opened the bathroom door and saw Yang standing close by, clearly waiting, it had taken everything not to freeze up entirely. With the rush of panic and embarrassment, she almost missed what the brawler had said.

“Good timing, Weissicle! Hope you left me some hot water, though.” Yang started to move past her into the bathroom until Weiss’ words and brain finally caught up with her.

“Wait! How long were you standing there? Did you… What did you hear?” Weiss didn’t notice but her grip on the dirty laundry in her arms tightened as she waited to hear what Yang would say.

Yang turned back around and leaned on the door frame, “Oh? Was there something naughty I wasn’t supposed to hear? Don’t worry. I’ll keep your dirty little secrets.” Seeing the shorter girl about to blow a fuse, Yang quickly changed tactics. Grinning from ear to ear, she hurriedly added, “Relax. I just got back. Still, who knew that proper little Ice Queen enjoyed such ‘crass and uncouth’ music, after all! Didn’t know your pipes were that good. You could tour if you decide hunting Grimm isn’t for you.”

Weiss practically sputtered from the whiplash of Yang’s innuendo. She ignored it in favor of focusing on the more pressing problem of her rather chatty teammate having heard her sing. “While I appreciate the compliment, I’d appreciate it more if you refrained from mentioning it to anyone. In fact, I believe it would be best if we both forgot about the entire thing.” Weiss felt sweat start to bead on her forehead, but that was surely just because of the temperature change between the bathroom and the rest of the dorm. She scanned Yang to try and get some sense of what the blonde was thinking and what she’d have to offer to ensure her silence. Just as Weiss was preparing a counter offer to whatever Yang requested, she noticed Yang’s face change ever so slightly. She was still smirking, but it had taken on a more relaxed look, the gleam of mischief no longer present in her eyes. Weiss was still waiting for a response when Yang started moving towards her.

Yang walked forward and laid her hand upon the shorter girl’s shoulder and looked into her eyes. “No worries, Weiss. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to. I promise.” Weiss was still stunned when Yang, having walked back into the bathroom, turned to offer up one more comment, “Seriously though if you ever want to record something, hit me up. I may know a few people who could help.” And with a wink, Yang shut the door.

Weiss was still frozen in confusion when she heard the shower turn on a few moments later. Shaking herself mentally, she let her heartbeat slow back down as the adrenaline started to fade and she set her clothes in the hamper to be washed. She had been so concerned that Yang finding out about her singing would mean that soon everyone would know. Except, Yang had agreed to drop it so quickly, she even went as far as to seem incredibly nonchalant about it. Weiss was confident she would not have stooped to pleading with her teammate, after all, a Schnee did not beg for anything. She was just surprised she hadn’t had to pull out any of her bargaining chips to sway the boisterous blonde.

* * *

Yang had, in fact, had a couple more quips ready before seeing the mortification and surprise on Weiss’ face. She had no trouble teasing ‘Weiss Queen’ to knock her down a couple pegs, but just now had been different. Weiss hadn’t exploded like she had so many times in the first couple weeks. There hadn’t even been any hint of their growing banter.

The way Weiss had frozen and responded in such a crisp manner was the first clue that something about the singing was different. She wasn’t positive, but Yang had a sneaking suspicion that she had just spoken with Weiss Schnee: Heiress to the Schnee name and fortune. Not the spoiled princess she came off as at first and definitely not the Weiss that was slowly warming up to being on a team and good friend. If Yang were to put money on it, she’d guess that was how Weiss acted around her family.

That sudden realization had broken Yang’s heart, she’d have wrapped Weiss in a hug but suspected that wouldn’t have been well-received just yet. Whatever the case may be, whether she consciously realized it or not, Yang had gotten another little sister. If what Weiss needed right now was to not have anyone know she could sing, then that’s something Yang could do for her.

She could find out more down the road, but in that moment she just needed to assure Weiss that she cared and wouldn’t tell anyone. If she could do that and downplay how much she understood Weiss’ sentiment, then she could at least buy herself enough time to shower.

Once the heiress calmed down enough to think things over, if she wanted to talk with Yang about it, then she’d be available and less sweaty. That conversation might get mushy if it had as much to deal with Weiss’ past as Yang figured it did; she didn’t want to be covered in sweat if that was the case. If Weiss needed a big sister shoulder to lean on then she could at least be clean for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank for reading, hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Cannot thank them enough, they polish my janky sentences:  
> [PhoenixCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixCat) and [Matchappreciated](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matchappreciated)
> 
> It's still Thursday! Barely, but still.


	5. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now presenting: Weiss  
> And some words she needs to admit

Arriving in the library with her and Ruby’s books, Weiss looked around to find that Blake had already made it and secured a table for the four of them. Letting her prior musings drift away, she smiled at her friend as she set down her armload and took a seat. “How long until our rambunctious partners get here? If they’re going to be more than a few minutes, we might just be able to get some work done before they show up and slow us down.”

Having reached the end of a chapter, Blake put a bookmark in her book and began pulling out her own materials. “They should be along soon. You know as well as I do that they help us through almost as many rough spots as we drag them through. At least they’ve gotten better about asking when they need help, unlike a certain heiress I could mention.” Blake leaned forward, an eyebrow raised, daring Weiss to dispute it.

Weiss clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes at Blake, she tried, truly tried to let the comment go uncontested. “First off, like you said we do have to drag them to get them over their problem areas. Secondly, the _few_ areas I happen to have issues with I am well aware of and once I have tried to overcome them on my own and still require assistance, I do ask for it. It is to my own betterment that I try to find a solution before bringing in a second party for help. And thirdly! You. Just. You. Be quiet.” Weiss settled for crossing her arms with a huff as her argument lost momentum. Blake’s smug expression didn’t even falter.

“Yeah, you really told me. You want to start on the homework or not talk about dinner some more?” Blake leaned back into her chair and grabbed a worksheet from Port’s class about Grimm anatomy. That did catch Weiss off guard slightly, which credit where it’s due, was almost certainly Blake’s intention.

“I.” Weiss blinked and halted in unpacking her materials. “I wasn’t avoiding it, I just got here and sat down. Also, it just happened like ten minutes ago, so I don’t really see why it needs talking about. What are we even talking about, what am I saying? There isn’t even any ‘it’ to talk about.” Weiss stared at Blake, flabbergasted for a moment, waiting for a reply. When all she got was a _Hmmm_ , she pulled out her own worksheet and got started. They worked in silence for all of thirty seconds before Weiss huffed and set her pencil down. 

“Okay, you know what,” she began. “Just because I try my best to instill well-deserved confidence into _my_ partner and leader, suddenly people look at me like I’ve grown a second head. What is up with that?” Blake looked up to see if Weiss actually wanted an answer, only to see that she was definitely not done talking. “I know I haven’t been the _warmest_ of people to be around but I think I’ve come a long way since arriving here. When I do say or do something genuinely nice for someone it sure doesn’t help encourage the action if people act weird about it. I figured you of all people would understand that.”

Blake grin was smugger than usual as she let Weiss finish. “I was just going to mention that Cardin dumping his plate on himself seemed a little heavy-handed for you. Since both that and your declaration are really both about Ruby we can certainly talk about that if you’d prefer.” Her grin just got wider when Weiss began to flush. She had been hanging out with Yang too much, though her girlfriend would surely think otherwise.

“I don’t see what Ruby has to do with it. Everything I said was entirely true. Having an outside force lower your self-esteem is a hazard of life, but having friends remind you of your strengths is as well. She just needed a reminder that Cardin’s accusations are baseless and moronic. As for his food tray… You can’t prove I had anything to do with that.”

“Hazard of life, huh? And here I thought she was a hazard to your health.”

“Oh, you know what I meant,” Weiss glowered.

“Yes, it’s just funny to see you trying to be so eloquent and failing. Usually you’ve either given up the pretense or are managing just fine. Seeing a mixture of the two is a touch refreshing coming from you.”

Though Weiss tried to maintain her stalwart expression, the corner of her mouth still twitched upwards as she continued. “Well, you can’t say he didn’t deserve it, especially with how he’d just been treating Ru‒everyone around him.” Weiss’ eyes widened slightly and she knew her flub had been noticed. she broke Blake’s gaze anyway, hoping her confidant would ignore it.

With a sigh, Blake leaned back in her chair to give Weiss more space. She didn’t want to make her friend feel cornered. The give and take they’d established throughout their prior conversations had left Blake wondering how much farther she should push Weiss right now. The more formal Weiss’ speech got, the more wound up Blake knew she was getting. It just depended on whether it was a good idea to get her to gently snap now or leave it be in hopes of her being calmer later.

One look at the deep breaths Weiss was taking and the nervous fidgeting of her hands told Blake that leaving it for later would probably result in a much bigger snap. With a quick request for a few extra minutes sent to Yang via scroll, she set to seeing if she could help untangle the knot Weiss had gotten herself in. Thankfully, there weren’t any other students studying in the area; Blake wasn’t sure how well Weiss would maintain her composure once pressed.

Taking a deep breath, Blake let her eyes wander aimlessly around the room before resting them on her somewhat hopeless friend. “Weiss, you know I’m on your side right? You know I’d leave well enough alone unless it was something serious?” Blake stared straight across the table now, waiting for a sign from Weiss before continuing. “If you want me to stop pushing, then you’re free to tell me to shut up at any point, but I think you need to let it out.” She let Weiss mull that over while pulling a thermos out of her bag.

Weiss hadn’t even seen the thermos full of tea appear, but suddenly Blake was passing her one of the attached cups half filled with the steaming liquid. She was certain they weren’t supposed to have beverages in the library, but she supposed this conversation was more important than questioning Blake’s ability to have tea anywhere.

“Should I talk to Yang about easing up on the teasing? Normally you take it in stride and give back just as good. Lately, and especially right at the moment, though, you seem more distressed about it all.” Blake paused and let Weiss sip her tea, patiently waiting for some kind of response. She didn’t actually lug the thermos around all the time, but she was glad she’d filled it today. Dinner had tipped her off that it might be a good idea, either for Weiss or for herself, she hadn’t been sure; she just knew it was easier to confide in each other with something warm to sip on hand.

Weiss thought about her options. They were fairly limited, she supposed. She could simply change the subject and ignore the help Blake was offering. Trying to claim ignorance of the topic was out of the question, if Blake didn’t already know, then she had to have a pretty good guess by now. If Blake had paid her usual level of attention… Well, Weiss felt like she blushed enough today to give herself away to just about anyone. Considering she and Blake had been having these tea chats regularly for the better part of a year, Weiss guessed she wouldn’t get very far lying either. 

She allowed her posture and the air of aloofness to drop a few degrees, “It’s not that big a deal.” Now that she was willingly engaging in the conversation, what they were talking about hit her full force. All the thoughts she had been tucking away overtook her like a tidal wave. One at a time they were easier to dismiss as flukes, but when confronted with a whole lap full, Weiss was struggling to remember why she’d ignored what her heart was telling her. All of the giddy smiles, the sudden rushes of adrenaline, and the senses of comfort and longing whenever Ruby had decided to invade her personal space were overwhelming.

“Alright, it is a big deal,” Weiss begrudgingly admitted. “But it doesn’t matter. Now is not the time, there’s too many other things going on, which is why I set it aside and tried not to think about,” Weiss felt her throat close up for a moment. Taking a deep breath she continued, “the fact that I have feelings for Ruby.” She looked up at Blake, who had somehow maintained a fairly neutral expression so far. “There, I said it. I may be developing feelings for Ruby which are more than platonic.”

As she let out a large breath, Weiss felt the tightness in her chest ease ever so slightly. “I had this in check before you opened your big mouth, Belladonna. Now I’ve got to deal with all of it. It felt good to say, though, so thank you.” Weiss stared at her raven-haired friend, in small part wondering how long she’d had suspicions about Weiss’ affections.

For her part, Blake remained silent. There were a few things to unpack in what Weiss had said, but it would be better for Weiss to take the lead on what to say for the moment. Taking a sip of her own tea and letting Weiss continue if the Heiress felt so inclined. Her instincts were once again proven correct.

“I can’t say I appreciate all the teasing, but it did help me reach the now obvious conclusion. Much more and Ruby might start figuring out what’s going on, though. It would probably be for the best if she heard it from me first. I’m not quite sure I’m ready for that. As unnerving as this is, I don’t think I can cite it as the cause of my recent distress.” It was surprising that she could still blush after she’d gotten through the more difficult and embarrassing confession, but it just seemed so ridiculous. When she saw Blake tilt her head to the side, Weiss knew she’d even caught her confidant off-guard.

“Mostly it’s just this damn song!” Weiss shook her head in exasperation. “I’ve had some tune stuck in my head for a little while now and I don’t even know what it is! That’s my _real_ problem right now.”

A look of understanding came over Blake and Weiss thought she heard her say something like, “The two might have more in common than you think.” When she turned back to look, Blake was taking another sip of tea. She was about to ask Blake to repeat herself when she got cut off.

“Weiss, when did you notice Yang and I had romantic feelings for each other?” Blake’s question completely derailed Weiss’ thought process. She floundered for a second at the sudden topic shift.

Getting her bearings back, she considered the question, “Well, I’d say when Ruby and I walked in on the two of you kissing in the dorm about two weeks ago. You told us you were dating, so I’d say that was fairly notable.”

While sympathetic in tone, Blake was clearly amused by Weiss’ answer, “Weiss, we’ve been dating for a little over a month now.”

“Wha-! But then—you never said anything!” Glad to have set her tea down, Weiss resisted the urge to put her hands on her hips in indignation.

Blake, on the other hand, let out a chuckle, “We weren’t exactly being subtle. Yeah, we never made out in front of you guys or anything, but do you really think I’d let Yang invade my personal space so much if I wasn’t interested? Half the time, I was the one telling her she could sit on my bed. She makes a great space heater.” Blake raised an eyebrow waiting to see what kind of rise she’d get out of the Heiress; she really had been hanging around Yang too much. Here she was trying to help Weiss through some of her mental block and she still wound up teasing her.

Weiss was more relaxed now, at least. Hopefully that meant she wouldn’t clam up once Blake asked the more serious questions again. For just a second though, making her friend squirm was fun. She _did_ make it so easy. 

“I don’t need to hear it! Why didn’t you guys mention you were dating before that? Were Ruby and I just supposed to guess?”

“We did tell Ruby. Well,” Blake smiled fondly at the memory, despite the slight embarrassment, “Ruby walked in on us kissing early on and that was that. We didn’t intend to keep it from you, I swear. I don’t know if you recall, but you walked in a couple minutes after Ruby and asked what you had missed. Yang made a joke and when you just accepted the fact that Yang was basically in my lap with our legs all tangled up, we figured you knew and that it wasn’t a big deal.” Weiss’ face still looked more on the confused side so Blake pressed on.

“I had my suspicions later, but like I said, we weren’t exactly hiding our relationship. Later when you guys caught us kissing again, we weren’t ashamed, it’s a perfectly normal thing for couples to do. We did say we’d _been_ dating, not that we had just started. We figured you knew at that point.”

“I get it!” Weiss grumbled. “I’m a world-class dunce.”

“I’m not saying this to make you feel stupid, Weiss. The point I’m trying to make is that while you are very smart, you can sometimes miss things that are right in front of you. Things like your teammates being rather gay for each other. Things like your own feelings toward a certain Rose.”

The look she gave Weiss was a mixture of sympathy and sternness, but her tone remained light. “ It’s not good to bottle that up for too long. I just wanted to make sure you were being honest with yourself. Since self-actualization wasn’t really your problem, care to tell me why you’re trying to ignore the feelings without doing anything about them?”

“Ugh, I admitted they were there. Out loud even. What more do you want from me? I already told you it doesn’t matter.”

With a small sigh and a cluck of the tongue, Blake realized it was time to dig her heels in. She disliked this method of interrogation, but she supposed it was better than some of her former life’s methods.

“Why wouldn’t it matter, Weiss? This isn’t the time or place? Is this not the best time and place?” Blake leveled her stare at Weiss to make sure the white-haired girl knew she wasn’t joking.

“You are away from your controlling family and well on your way to making a name for yourself that is entirely distinct. With someone who makes you happy by your side, your lofty goals of redeeming your family name might be easier.” Weiss’ reaction so far was slightly shocked silence with a touch of shame.

Blake had guessed correctly—Weiss already knew this and had pushed the real cause of her hesitation further down. With that in mind, Blake pressed on, “And if that’s not your goal anymore, then being with someone who is also a huntress would make taking future jobs much safer.

“So don’t try me with this bullshit about how it’s a bad idea unless you actually have a good reason. From where I’m standing you’re perfect for each other. Come at me with a valid concern and we’ll talk.”

Seeing the nervousness on her friend’s face was better than the anger Blake had been worried about. Now it was just a matter of waiting for Weiss to open up. Blake didn’t have to wait long.

“But my father—” Weiss began.

“Nope.” Blake was leaning forward on the table with her hands folded at this point. She was not going to let Weiss get away with some half-assed excuse.

“Our studies—” Weiss tried, but she could see she was losing ground fast.

“Bullshit,” Blake almost facepalmed at that line of thought, her displeasure plain on her face for Weiss to see.

Weiss was floundering now, “But there’s—”

“Nuh-uh.” Blake just shook her head. She needed to get this over with. “C’mon, Weiss, you’re smarter than this. Something is holding you back and it is not all those weak excuses you keep trying to say it is. So. What. Is. It?”

“IT’S ME, OKAY! I’M THE PROBLEM!” Both of them were slightly surprised by the ferocity, let alone the volume of Weiss’ admission. Blake simply recovered first.

Finally leaning back again, Blake eased off the aggressive manner. She let her usual calm back into her voice and body as she smiled warmly at Weiss. “Well then. Now we’re getting somewhere.”

Weiss took a few moments to catch her breath. She hadn’t even realized she was short of breath. Perhaps it was that with the extra burden off her chest she could now see how much it had been weighing her down.

“It’s just… I don’t even… Ruby is,” Weiss’ voice tapered out without anything specific to say. She sighed, despair written all over her face. Every insecurity she had was swirling around inside her mind, telling her why following her heart was a terrible idea.

The fear of rejection, of potentially ruining her first real friendship was near the top. Logically, Weiss knew that was insignificant in the grand scheme of things and Ruby wasn’t likely to stop being friends with her. Even pushing that fear aside, there were more worries waiting to make themselves known. Feelings of inadequacy, fear of the unknown. 

Thankfully, before she could dissolve into a puddle of nerves, Blake once again pushed through to help out. Feeling a hand clasp hers, Weiss glanced back up at the faunus.

“Take some deep breaths, Weiss. Before you let yourself spiral out of control, consider this: Are you really going to just give up on Ruby without even trying?” Weiss could see what Blake was doing. Grateful, she let herself get pulled into the challenge she was being offered.

With a small smile of her own, Weiss pulled herself back upright and let out a long breath. “When you put it that way,” Weiss trailed off as she thought about what solving the issue might mean again, “But, what if—” She was halted again by Blake’s stare.

“You’re right,” Weiss said with an exasperated huff. “It’s infuriating how correct you are.” She felt her face heat again, she should probably mention the other main source of her concern.

“While that is going to take a bit of work to get through, it’s not the only issue. It’s just, well,” Weiss hesitated, cheeks stained red again. “I’ve never really felt this way before.” Weiss looked at Blake to see if she was making any sense. Meeting a curious and attentive face, Weiss chose to elaborate.

“What I mean is, I am aware of various social practices and expectations. The idea of engaging in any of them has just never appealed to me so I literally never gave it a second thought. Ruby so far is the anomaly. She’s the first one, I guess, that does it for me, so I,” Weiss just sort of gestured vaguely until she realized she was flailing her arms around at nothing in particular, so she nervously clasped her hands together and set them in her lap.

“Well, I think Yang might have a problem if you’re already thinking about sex when you haven’t even managed to tell Ruby you like her that way. Aren’t you skipping a few steps there, Weiss?” The mischievous glint was back in Blake’s eye. However the sputtering that issued forth was well worth it.

“What?! No, I mean dating, relationships, love.” Weiss’ hands were immediately back to wild gestures until she slammed them down and leaned forward on the table. “Wait, are you suggesting that _Ruby_ wouldn’t mind if I’d meant sex?” She tried to sound accusatory, but based on the look on Blake’s face she just came off as desperate.

“You’ve got it worse than I thought. It’s a bit early to be thinking of it as love, isn’t it?” Blake inquired.

“I don’t know,” Weiss said hesitantly, now she was fiddling with her hands. “Like I said, I’ve never really had romantic or… sexual feelings or thoughts before.”

“Hmmm, Neptune?” Blake hummed curiously.

“Objectively, I can see he’s considered attractive, but that’s about as far as it went. I don’t know if I was interested in pursuing him to please my family or spite them.”

Blake merely chuckled, but otherwise stayed silent.

“As far as love goes,” she paused before going on. “Well, I know we’ve never really expressed it, but,” Weiss shrunk into herself a touch and tucked a loose hair behind her ear. “I mean, we’re a team, we trust each other to protect one another and everything. I know I’m new to the idea of friends, but that’s love, isn’t it?” Weiss had never verbalized something that made her feel so vulnerable before.

Heck, before Beacon, Weiss had never been this open with anyone before. She wondered how much that was because of Ruby consistently pushing into her life.

“It’s a good thing Yang isn’t here. She’d probably never let you hear the end of that.” Weiss noted the teasing tone, but saw Blake’s own embarrassed blush at the heartfelt comment.

“Well, she’s surprised me before,” Weiss mumbled. “Speaking of which, I thought you said they’d be here shortly?” Weiss’ eyes narrowed in suspicion at the sneaky ninja, who then confirmed said suspicions. 

“I told Yang to give us a few minutes. She’ll likely text me when our time is almost up. Like you said, we protect one another and trust can go a long way.” Weiss may have thought she could derail the conversation, but Blake wasn’t having it.

“Those are different kinds of love. Just because I made sure we could have this talk more privately doesn’t mean I’m going to try snatching you up from Ruby.”

Weiss left out a small chuckle, Blake was being intentionally obtuse now, but she supposed that was a good thing. “I mean, yes, I get that. But, well, you’re with Yang. Is kissing a whole lot different then telling each other you’d fight to the death to save each other if needed. I feel like that’s kind of a necessity in our current field. Not that we always verbalize it because,” Weiss blanched, “well, it’s rather intimate, isn’t it?”

“True enough,” Blake relented. “When it’s your best friend, it all does tend to blend together. Also, yes, randomly bringing up that you’d die for one another would be rather strange.” Blake paused to consider it, “Might not be the worst way to get Ruby’s attention though.”

“One of the more unspoken parts of loving someone, I think. Even platonically.” Weiss just shook her head at the silliness this was becoming, then groaned again when she realized that she wasn’t really any closer to her goal.

“Ugh! This isn’t helping! They’re going to be here any minute and now I’m all flustered and don’t know what to do.” Weiss sighed and leaned forward, letting her face drop into her textbook with a gentle _thump_ , arms hanging limply at her sides _._ “Thanks a bunch,” Weiss said, her voice muffled by her new position.

“Be yourself, and let Ruby be Ruby. You clearly like how she is,” Blake commented as she gathered up the thermos and cups.

Weiss looked up with a scrunched expression. “I don’t follow…”

Glancing around to find the best way of putting it, Blake chose the roundabout way again. “Care to take a guess as to why Pyrrha likes Jaune?”

“Heaven only knows.”

“Weiss,” Blake stared tiredly, “you can be socially blind, but you aren’t dense.”

Sitting back up, Weiss seriously considered the question, “I guess… I’d have to say because he doesn’t treat her differently from everyone else. For goodness sake, he didn’t even recognize her for who she was, despite how much of that cereal he eats.”

Blake nodded slowly, seeing if Weiss would take the logical progression, the extra step, and apply it to her own situation. When it seemed Weiss was not going to continue, she did.

“And isn’t that one of the reasons you like Ruby? Because she didn’t put you on a pedestal?” Weiss nodded her agreement when Blake paused. “To her you’re Weiss first. And even when you act particularly uppity, you’re still a Schnee second.”

“Hey!” Weiss interjected.

Blake ignored it and pressed on, “Don’t do her the disservice of putting her on one. Even if you don’t think you have, it’s easy to do, especially with first love,” Blake trailed off for a second before continuing. “I have some unfortunate experience with that. While I’m confident you and Ruby will do just fine, realizing you both have flaws and accepting them is part of falling in love.”

“Where did this come from? That seems more like established relationship stuff and less about getting me to confess my feelings.”

“That’s just good to know. Also you know, communication. How many problems could be solved if people just _talked_ to each other.” When Weiss still looked confused Blake just shrugged, “You asked for advice.”

Weiss blinked a few times before realizing what Blake was talking about. “Slamming my head into the table and wondering what I’m supposed to do about my feelings isn’t asking for advice.”

Glancing at her scroll Blake responded, “Well, you seem less flustered now. Which is good, because Yang just let me know our time was up. They should be entering the library riiiiight,” Blake paused, focusing on the ebb and flow of sound in the library. They both heard the library door creak open and the two sisters’ voices filter in. “Now.” With one last reassuring smile, Blake got back to her homework.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm well aware the chapter title was a tease. But Weiss did confess, just mostly to herself. And Blake happened to be there. :3
> 
> So... my chapters are getting a bit longer.  
> Hope you all liked Therapy!Blake, she will be back, likely with reinforcements.
> 
> So, I didn't really realize this scene was happening until I started writing it. Much like Weiss brief musing at Yang's motive at dinner leading her to remember when Yang found out about her singing, this was Blake's chapter to do that... Then it was brief therapy session that spanned 10 pages in a word document.
> 
> I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I'm quite pleased with how the story is going am really looking forward to what y'all think of this chapter and the next. I think I had the most fun so far writing Blake.
> 
> That said, I've never been in therapy (probably should give it a go at some point but *shrugs*) So if any of my advice actually sounds like a very bad idea, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I've mostly just basing the different advise on what make sense in my head and snippits I've picked up here and there. Very easy to slip into Weiss' thinking here. All the different problems that people bring up in these kinds of fics I feel are pretty common. While I didn't want to exactly just copy the same "Will they/won't they" I felt it was still relevant to bring up and discuss. Since the fic is overall fluffy, I wanted to bring it up as something Weiss is working through, but ultimately, with a bit of help from some Bees, will be overcome fairly easily.
> 
> Big thanks to my betas, this chapter was much bigger and a lot of dialogue.  
> [PhoenixCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixCat) and [Matchappreciated](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matchappreciated)


	6. Better Blake Than Never

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss is distracted.

For her part, Weiss tried not to reel from the conversation that just took place. There was so much more to think about now that she had aired her emotions. Not to their intended target, but she supposed it was a step in the right direction. She went through the study session more out of reflex than anything else. She knew the material—she just couldn’t really say what she was filling out, her brain more occupied with what she’d been talking about with Blake.

Now that she knew to look for it, Blake had been right. She and Yang really didn’t try to hide their relationship. Right from when Ruby and Yang had come and sat down, the number of casual touches and the overall interactions they had, Weiss was wondering how she’d not seen it. They weren’t violating any academy PDA rules that Weiss could think of. It was just the ease with which they shared each other’s space that was baffling. Particularly with what Weiss knew of her quiet teammate’s history.

When Yang brushed a lock of hair over Blake’s ear, Weiss had to look away. It felt like she was intruding. Realistically she knew it was fine, she just had never been that close to someone. Never been willing to allow anyone that far into her personal space.

Weiss became aware of her chair starting to shake slightly. Realizing the cause, she was reminded of the source of her affections and why she may have been so distracted. Without thinking about it, she reached her right hand out and stilled Ruby’s shaking knee. It had drifted from in front of its own chair enough to cause a disruption in Weiss’ own. 

She knew it would only be stilled for a few more moments, but hopefully Ruby would keep it to a minimum and self-contained. Ruby, on the other hand, didn’t even seem to acknowledge the act and hadn’t paused her progress on the current homework. Slowly retracting her hand, Weiss mentally gaped at herself.

The whiplash of what just happened caught up to her.

When had this become commonplace?

While still thinking she had been physically isolated for years, Ruby had blustered her way through and it had barely been a blip on Weiss’ radar. True, she hadn’t let herself linger on the cold, distant feeling she felt around her family, but it hadn’t consciously occurred to her that Ruby had slipped past those defenses.

Plenty of times, especially after they first became a team, Weiss had found herself irritated that this bubbly girl was consistently invading her space. As time had gone on, that became part of what drew Weiss to Ruby. Yet, since they weren’t actually dating, Weiss still considered herself removed from everyone else. She may never have put it into words, but Yang’s moniker of Ice Queen and all those similar, on some level, had rung true for her. She hadn’t done an in-depth self evaluation in so long; Weiss had to admit that her assumptions about herself were outdated. Perhaps continuing to operate like she was still as isolated as she was before attending Beacon was her issue.

Part of her was stuck as the lonely heiress, fighting for a touch of freedom. Now she had outright told Blake that she loved their team. Sure, it was all about camaraderie but that didn’t change the fact that before Beacon, Weiss would never have done that. Before, her concept of family was so discordant that learning to fit in with her team pushed thoughts of her past out most of the time. Instead of just fitting in, now she was thriving.

Team RWBY was her family.

She would almost prefer a different term because her biological family was nothing like what she felt around her team. While still very reserved, Weiss had relaxed into her new environment and let them redefine the meaning of the word. That was in no small part due to the boisterous sisters getting into everything and causing an upset. Weiss had just come to accept and expect the random bursts of hugs or touches from Ruby. There wasn’t a time she could pinpoint when she had just let that be normal, so she stopped trying.

But when had it become normal for Weiss to do the same?

Staring at her right hand while her left fiddled with her pencil, not getting any work done, Weiss racked her brain. She could think of plenty of times she’d had to berate or physically remove someone for trying to get in her space. Sometimes with Ruby, but more often it was Yang. In those situations, after the initial fear response passed, she realized that it was mostly because one of them was hanging or draping themselves on her. Weiss would much rather not fall over.

So when had she, Weiss Schnee, started being the one to cross the threshold of someone else’s personal space?!?

She thought of the first time they’d all played Remnant: The Game together. Ruby had been the one to initiate, but she certainly hadn’t discouraged the action. Her words may have said “don’t touch me,” but her body had reacted very differently. Holding onto Ruby had been strangely comfortable and Weiss had realized she didn’t actually want Ruby to move away.

It made sense for Ruby, that’s just who she was as a person, so Weiss had stopped fighting it. If she could just figure out when she had normalized return gestures. Thinking over various interactions for any clue, Weiss had another realization. That wasn’t just who Ruby was as a person.

Well, in a way it was, but when she started analyzing the physical side of Ruby, she had to accept that Ruby seemed particular in who she got physically close to. She’d brushed off all the hugs and touches Ruby practically showered her with as commonplace. Now that she was thinking about it, though, Ruby mostly did that with her, not everyone.

She was plenty affectionate with Yang, and to a certain extent, Blake as well, but the interactions weren’t the same, weren’t they? Was it just Weiss seeing them as different because of her own feelings towards Ruby or was there actually a definitive difference? That was where her analysis froze, unable to find cases of Ruby being hands-on with anyone else. Ruby never showed an aversion, but even with team JNPR she never gave out random hugs or even endeavored to sit close to them.

That couldn’t be right, could it?

Ruby was so bouncy and clearly lacked the social tact one expects from people their age, let alone the leader of a team of Huntresses. Weiss had dismissed it because Ruby was two years younger. Now, two years later, she was still pretty much the same, at least in terms of how often she rough-housed with Yang or squeezed Weiss slightly when she was excited.

They ate most meals with team JNPR, surely there was something. But no matter how many times Weiss went over it, she couldn’t find more than a few instances when Ruby had done more than pat Jaune on the shoulder or arm wrestled with Nora. Nothing compared to the amount of contact Weiss had received since she’d declared she’d be the best teammate ever.

It was too much. Still trying to wrap her head around the conversation with Blake, Weiss tried to tamp down the implications her thoughts were starting to suggest. Instead, she tried to work through some of Blake’s comments.

That was probably a mistake that would have her spiralling out, but then her mind caught on something. Her keen, Faunus friend hadn’t mentioned Ruby except in how Weiss was affected by her. Come to think of it, the few times Weiss had said something that would naturally incline someone to discuss any of Ruby’s potential thoughts or feelings, the topic shifted instead.

The closest Blake had come was in pointing out that Ruby didn’t put Weiss on the “heiress” pedestal. Weiss wondered if that had been Blake’s machinations as well, Weiss had been nervous enough about herself that she hadn’t thought to ask Blake directly.

Blake had said she thought things would work out just fine. Wait. Did that mean Ruby had feelings for her?

And there she went again.

_ Stop it. Getting your hopes up isn’t going to help anyone. Whether she does or not is inconsequential. _

Glancing at the work in front of Ruby, Weiss realized she’d gotten an entire worksheet behind. Feeling her face start to heat again, Weiss wasn’t sure if it was in embarrassment at falling behind or her current ruminations about her adorable partner. Her very close, very oblivious partner.

_ It would make confessing that much easier if I knew how she saw me. _

Deciding that there wasn’t much else she could do at the moment, Weiss refocused on the work in front of her. While she had cruised through the rest of it without having to give it any thought, she now saw what her hangup had been. While she had taken copious notes and studied, there was only so far that could take her with practical applications of some of the knowledge.

She recalled that the rest of the group had a much more rustic upbringing by comparison to her own. It was no wonder that Ruby had breezed through the sheet asking about more field applications of hunting Grimm and survival. There was even a spot for the more creative to draw out some of the aspects of what a temporary encampment should look like.

Seeing the worksheet in Ruby’s done pile meant she could see the back of the page. Normally blank, Weiss noted that Ruby had clearly gone beyond what Oobleck had meant and had gone to the back to give her drawing more space and detail. It also helped that despite how spastic she acted sometimes, Ruby had an incredibly still hand.

Weiss briefly wondered if that was natural or heavily trained from working on weapons so much. With a slight, hardly perceptible sigh, Weiss looked away from the impressive work. Realizing she’d need reminding, she reached for her bag to retrieve the notes she’d made on the subject when she felt a less pleasant invasion of her space.

Looking up more in confusion than hurt, she met Blake’s eye. Wordlessly, Blake gave her another pointed look. Somewhere between a smug,  _ I told you so _ and a desperate  _ Really? _ Seeing Blake’s eyes clearly flicking over to Ruby before practically glaring back at her, notes in hand, Weiss got the message.

_ Just ask her! _

Weiss glanced down at the notes in her hands. She knew the information was in there. She also knew that asking Ruby for help would likely be faster. If she heard the small sigh of relief from Blake when she set the notes back down, she ignored it.

Taking a deep breath and then clearing her throat, Weiss asked, “Ruby, would you mind terribly helping me with this section?” Out of the corner of her eye, Weiss saw her other teammates reacting. She braced herself as she saw Yang’s mouth open, a grin already tugging at her lips. Thankfully a split second later Weiss saw Blake’s elbow give a sudden, almost imperceptible, nudge into the blonde’s ribs.

Ruby was all cheery smiles as usual. “Sure Weiss!” Leaning over to see what part Weiss was on, Ruby cocked her head at the pile of notes on the side before leaning back. “Don’t you already have the answers in your notes, though?”

Weiss gulped, looking between Ruby and her notes. Of all the things for Ruby to have just been cognizant of, it was the notes. Not how close she had just gotten. Weiss swore if she hadn’t just been having it out with Blake, she wouldn’t have thought much of it. Now it was almost all she could pay attention to. She needed to shake this quick and refocus. Homework was at stake, dammit.

“Of course I do.” Weiss couldn’t let on how the sudden brush of closeness had affected her. “It’s just my notes are rather extensive and it would take some time to find the right spot. Since you’d been camping so much I decided to ask you first.” 

“Aww, thanks! You even remembered about the camping! That’s sweet of you. Which part are you having trouble with?” Ruby scooched her chair over so she could see Weiss’ paper more clearly. Weiss was both grateful and a little disappointed that Ruby hadn’t elected to lean in quite so far. She wasn’t sure her constitution could withstand that right now. The closer chair was bad enough.

Sliding the paper more in between them, Weiss confessed, “Pretty much all of it. I know most of the proper things to do, but can’t recall the order at the moment.” She tried not to let Ruby calling her “sweet” disrupt her thought process.

_ Ruby likes sweet things. _ The thought was dripping in innuendo and she could practically hear the eyebrow waggle.

Now she had a suggestive, Yang-like thought interrupting her. Great. Confident she would be called out for her blushing or floundering words at any point, Weiss fell silent.

Once again, Blake came to her rescue. “That’s not surprising, especially with how some of the questions are worded, meant to trip us up. Having the right answers, but in the wrong spots won’t do anyone any good. In fact, since even Weiss is questioning it, Yang, shall we look over each others’ work just to make sure?”

With both pairs now putting their full concentration on the one sheet, the table fell to hushed whispers as they went over each question with their partner. As they finished up, Weiss decided to try her hand at the extra drawing section. First she felt thanks were in order.

“Thank you, Ruby,” Weiss said with a small smile. “I suppose this time you excelled at saving time.”

Hearing Ruby giggle at the playful jab from initiation put Weiss at ease about her otherwise mean-sounding comment. Still, with the conversation with Blake tumbling around in the back of her mind, she supposed it wouldn’t hurt for more genuine honesty.

“Also, excellent job on your drawing. I’m sure Oobleck will give you plenty of extra credit for it. You’re beau— _ It’s _ very artfully done.” So much for that plan—a few sentences in and she’d practically started gushing like a schoolgirl. She was a girl and in school, but that wasn’t the point. She just prayed Ruby didn’t point out her strange mannerism. Instead, this time Weiss got to watch Ruby’s face flush.

“Yeah, it comes in handy when I need to draw up battle plans. I’m sure yours will look great too!” Ruby smiled at the compliment, nervously scratching the back of her head. “Did you need any more help, Weiss?”

“I think I’m okay for now. Thank you, though. You should probably keep working on your own for now.” Weiss thought she saw Ruby’s smile dim, but it was probably just self-projection. Her own spirits fell slightly at the admission, so she added, “If I require your assistance again, I’ll let you know.”

She thought she heard a scoff and a chuckle from across the table, but when she glanced over, she just saw Yang coughing quietly into her sleeve. Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, Weiss was met with a questioning look from Yang. It’d looked a tad too innocent for the brawler, but Weiss chose to let it go. Before getting back to her work, Weiss met Blake’s eyes and gave her a small nod of thanks.

They were almost done with this week’s work and seeing what was left in front of her, Weiss felt herself drifting off again. As long as she paid cursory attention to her surroundings and to what she was writing, she decided that was okay.

Just a couple hours ago her biggest concern was that annoying song. Now she felt she had to come up with several ways to either thank Blake for her help or curse her for it. She needed to rein in her emotions lest something slip out before she intended it to.

Unfortunately for her, even remembering there was a song stuck in her head brought it back full force. Since she still had no means of discovering its origin, she pushed it out and focused harder on her work and on her conversation with Blake.

She really did have a lot to thank the raven-haired girl for. Their relationship had taken a little while to flourish. They’d both still been getting used to their partners’ constant presence. It had taken more than a couple cups of tea, but eventually they had opened up to each other. Weiss remembered it was actually because of her singing that she had even started being more honest with Blake.

* * *

Weiss hadn’t been too concerned when Blake had found out; mostly because she didn’t find out Blake had heard her until the day after while having tea with the dark-haired girl. They discovered this particular cafe when out as a team and had decided to stop there for lunch. It also boasted a large variety of both coffee and tea, so every so often, or at least as often as they could, Weiss and Blake visited it. It started as an excuse to have some time away from the more enthusiastic sisters and to try something outside of their norm. 

With so many drinks to choose from and the relaxing, secluded environment, they found themselves returning whenever they had time. Sometimes after a particularly stressful test, or if they were already out and it was convenient, or often just because it was a nice little escape where they could talk. Blake had immediately insisted on switching off since Weiss had paid for everyone the first time.

That particular day, it had been Blake's turn to grab drinks while Weiss secured a table.

She had nearly spilled her tea everywhere when Blake mentioned hearing her sing, but recovered by quickly setting the cup back down instead of taking a drink. Thankfully, Blake hadn’t caught her mid-sip; Weiss doubted the Faunus would have appreciated being sprayed with tea. The morning in question Weiss had gotten up significantly earlier than the rest of the team as she normally did. Singing when her team was asleep had its risks, as evidenced by Blake finding out, but the first few months had proven to Weiss that Ruby and Yang could probably sleep through an airship crashing into the building and that Blake liked to sleep in as often as possible. Therefore, Weiss was caught off-guard when Blake had acknowledged her talent accompanied by a modicum of praise. Blake cut her off before Weiss could ask if Yang had told her.

“I woke up early yesterday. Old habits are still kicking in occasionally. I'm honestly a bit surprised I hadn't overheard you before, living as I had before coming to Beacon,” Blake shifted in her seat slightly and paused to sip her own tea. Weiss resisted the urge to scan the area for eavesdroppers; they were both careful with word choice on certain topics, but it still made her nervous. 

“Well, when we need to set a guard during overnight missions, I'm used to taking the middle shift. Normally, I go back to sleep if I've got more than an hour before anyone else will wake up. Considering I heard the shower stop, I knew I wouldn't be able to drift off quick enough.”

Weiss took a few deep breaths and sipped her tea to try and rein in her emotions. This certainly explained why Blake had brought two cups of tea over. Her standing order was the rotating featured coffee unless there was something in particular that piqued one of their interests. “Why didn't you just pretend until you did fall asleep? I doubt I would have noticed,” Weiss rebutted. She could get through this. She just needed to stay calm. Sudden outbursts in public would draw attention. Yang hadn't gone back on her word and Blake was fairly easy to reason with; hopefully she wouldn't have to go into too much detail to convince Blake to never mention this to anyone.

“I considered it, but there was a chance I would have slipped up. I didn't want to catch you off-guard if you had thought I heard you.” Blake slowly drew in a large breath before continuing, “Also, pretending like that, it's a tactic I would have used before and doing it now felt,” Blake paused for a moment and her nose wrinkled as if the words tasted bad, “wrong. True, it wouldn't have been with ill intentions, but it still felt like lying to your face. You said yourself that if I had any other problems you wanted me to come to the team before anyone else.” Blake looked away and took a larger gulp of her tea than she ordinarily would have.

Weiss appreciated the reprieve. This whole conversation was a touch embarrassing. She had to give credit where it was due, though. Blake was proving that she was willing to meet Weiss halfway in terms of uncomfortable honesty. A sentiment Weiss was going to have to return sooner rather than later, it seemed.

Her gaze dropped to the cup resting in front of her, hands wrapped around it to absorb the warmth. She cleared her throat before saying, “Thank you for your consideration. I don't know how I would have responded, especially that early in the morning. For telling me now as well; I appreciate your discretion in having us come out here to talk about it. I would be exceedingly grateful if you kept this information to yourself.” Weiss ran her finger along the side of her cup, eyes locked there rather than meeting Blake's, who had focused back on Weiss once she had begun speaking.

“Weiss, it's only me. You don't need to be so formal. Of course, I'm not going to go telling people. Since you never mentioned singing, I figured you'd rather it not be common knowledge. And, Weiss—”

Weiss looked up from her cup to see Blake staring intently at her, her face more relaxed and sympathetic than Weiss ever remembered seeing it. 

“That sentiment goes both ways. If you ever need to vent about,” Blake’s shrug was more casual than her words, “anything.” Blake inclined her head slightly and reached up to adjust her bow. Weiss glanced up at the concealed ears before locking eyes with Blake again. “They're not just decoration. We haven't been coming here just for the drinks,” Blake said with a small conspiratorial smile, effectively breaking the tense mood.

Weiss let her shoulders relax and the breath she'd been holding out, then gave a small, grateful smile of her own. “Well, maybe you haven't been. I, on the other hand, thoroughly intend to try every coffee they have to offer. The tea was delicious, but I think I'm in the mood for the blend they have from Vacuo. Would you like anything?”

“That sounds good. I'll trust your judgment,” Blake responded. Weiss suspected she was still talking about more than just beverages. She supposed it was only fair to let Blake know at least some of the reasons she kept her singing voice stifled. Coffee came first, however.

* * *

Blake had woken up early that morning, time spent in the White Fang out on covert missions had drilled in a state of constant alertness that was difficult to shake. Not that she'd wanted to, necessarily. Even though she’d spent over a year in the relative safety of Beacon, Blake held fast to the adage “better safe than sorry.” Usually, she took a cursory glance around the room, checked the time, and if she still had several hours before class, went back to sleep. She would have followed through that routine had her enhanced senses not picked up the soft, lilting voice that floated peacefully through the room.

While her ears twitched and swiveled to determine where the sound was originating from, she made another visual sweep of the room, her amber eyes needing little light to discern which of her bunk-mates were currently missing. Quickly compiling all the provided information, Blake arrived at the obvious conclusion.

Blake thought back to determine if there were any other times she’d heard their resident Heiress sing. In the field, the Fang had accumulated as much intel on the Schnees as possible, so the knowledge that Weiss sang for public events and the like was old news. Singing by oneself in the shower was a different matter; when they first got here, Blake probably wouldn’t have bothered making note of it and gone back to sleep.

With the secrets that had been aired and the semi-regular conversations they shared over tea, Blake was now seriously considering the new information presented to her. Blinking the remaining morning fog away, she sat up and began running her fingers through her hair, more for the sensation than actually undoing knots. Even though she’d been asleep, it was an easy conclusion to arrive at: Weiss didn’t want people to know that she could sing, whether in the shower or not.

She didn’t have much time to dwell on why, however. Now mostly awake, Blake heard the shower turn off and the singing stop. The realization that she needed to make a decision and only had about 5 minutes to make it quickly sunk in. Okay, maybe 10.

Weiss was still enough of a Schnee that she wouldn’t leave the bathroom unless forced to (Yang demanding to pee and nearly breaking the door down), until she was ready to face the world. Blake considered her options.

Should she continue getting ready? When Weiss walked out Blake could lie and say she just woke up.

Blake dismissed that immediately. Even if Weiss didn’t see through it, she would likely be hesitant about her freedom to sing in the morning.

She could lie back down and pretend to be asleep and maybe actually sleep until her partner woke her up for breakfast.

While the possibility appealed to her, Blake hesitated. Like an unpleasant, lingering taste in the back of her mouth, she saw why. It reminded her of something she would do to gather intel for the White Fang. So, that option was out as well.

She could quickly get dressed, grab her book, and go sit in the library for a while. If Weiss noticed, she’d seek Blake out. Most likely however, it would give Blake the option to bring up the singing in a more suitable location. One with less risk of exposure.

Since she was already mostly awake and her appearance suitable for the very few who would be up already, Blake chose that one. Catching Weiss off-guard this early in the morning had the potential to wake at least Ruby, if not Yang as well. She had to quell the urge to comfort and reassure her friend that there was nothing to worry about.

Blake smiled at the thought as she finished silently getting dressed and grabbed her book. Yes, she and Weiss had been friends for some time now, but the natural instinct to offer comfort hadn’t blindsided her like it had the first few times. Knowing this wasn’t the time and that Weiss would appreciate the sentiment more than the actions later, Blake got out the door. Perhaps in a more controlled and comfortable setting—baby steps after all. Weiss might notice she was gone and suspect her secret was out, but if not, then Blake would bring it up tomorrow over tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, the Blake flashback was supposed to take place at the end of last chapter. When it and the studying scene got to their respective sizes I decided to split it up. Weiss panicking was just too easy to write. Plus,Yay! more WR interaction.
> 
> Hope you liked it! I'm updating today because I may be too busy tomorrow. Also, you might be able to look for a "prequel" chapter sometime early next week. When I started writing the first chapters out I ended up with several extra pages of Weiss growing up and learning to sing. I consider it canon for my AU, but I felt it wasn't necessary to include initially, it doesn't directly relate to the song stuck in her head or blossoming feelings.  
> If I get it typed out and edited I'll probably post it as a part 1 or 2 and officially make the songfic AU a series. I did promise to show Bumblebee's beginning.
> 
> As always, big call-out to my betas. They make it 100x more readable and fix the chaos that is my comma splices.  
> [PhoenixCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixCat) and [Matchappreciated](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matchappreciated)


	7. The Schnee and the Bees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another conversation about the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.  
> NAHHHHHh, just uh, Yang getting caught up to speed.
> 
> Can Weiss cope with her rising feelings?  
> Can Bumblebee help her get in the right head-space?  
> Will Weiss ever figure out that song?  
> TUNE IN NEXT...well right now actually... some questions might be answered
> 
> maybe

Having finished their homework, team RWBY headed back to their room. It was too late, and they were all too mentally tired to put in any more effort training. 

“With all the homework out of the way, we can spend more of the weekend working on combat drills,” Weiss had quickly pointed out. Ruby had only been marginally disappointed, but Weiss had swiftly reassured her anyway.

Not having time after combat class due to the leaders meeting, Ruby swiftly claimed the shower. Weiss hadn’t given it much thought, but when she saw Blake and Yang sit down on Blake’s bed and gesture Weiss to sit on her own, she was caught off guard. She had assumed Blake would likely sit down and read until bedtime and that Yang would cozy up next to her. Weiss complied, but when she opened her mouth to ask what was going on, Yang held up a finger indicating she should wait. It went back down once they heard the shower turn on. It was once again Blake who kicked things off.

“If you want this conversation to remain private, that’s perfectly fine, but we only have until Ruby is done in the shower. Weiss, have you thought about what we discussed?” Blake may have been leaning into Yang a bit, but Weiss appreciated that her attention seemed fully invested in the conversation.

“Well, I haven’t exactly had a lot of time in the last few hours, what with the studying and all,” Weiss shifted slightly, tucking the slack in her combat skirt underneath her legs.

“Really? ‘Cuz from where I was sitting, you looked plenty distracted. You saying Ice Queen can’t multitask?” Yang, on the other hand, looked too relaxed, putting off an air that she was only barely interested with an arm draped entirely around Blake.

“Of course I can!” Weiss huffed. “Fine, yes. I was distracted while doing homework. What Blake and I spoke about gave me a great deal of items to consider.”

“ _Items?_ ” Yang hissed as she leaned forward, arms braced against her legs. Even though she was still across the room, Weiss felt she had gotten much closer. “You better not be thinking of Ruby as merely an item.”

“Wha-I never-” Weiss quickly backpedaled. “Absolutely not, you brute. I take Ruby very seriously. As well as any feelings I have for her, or that she may have for me!” Weiss crossed her arms in defiance, daring Yang to dispute her claims.

Just as quickly as she snapped, Yang’s aggressive demeanor vanished. Leaning back slightly with her arms still resting in her lap, Yang now had a pleasant smile and a welcoming aura. “Glad to hear it. Figured that’s what you were talking about, Blakey here wouldn’t say. Now, with the obvious out of the way, we can get to the real issue. So, Weiss, what’s the hold up?”

As Weiss’ practically sputtered at the fast turn around Blake threw an annoyed glance at Yang. “I didn’t tell you to scare her or put her on the defensive. Weiss, we are here to help if you so desire. Was there more you wanted to discuss and are you even up to talk about it right now?”

Weiss sighed and dropped her hands to her side. “I’m not sure. I mean, I guess since it’s out in the open again it doesn’t make much difference.”

“It makes all the difference.” It was actually Yang who spoke up first. “If you aren’t feeling up to it, that’s fine. We just wanted to make sure you knew that we are aware of what you’re going through and are here. Sometimes just having a willing ear to listen does a world of good. I shouldn’t have threatened you like that. If there’s anything I can do to make you more comfortable, I will. If you’d rather wait or just talk to Blake some more, that’s fine too.”

To say Weiss was surprised by the care in Yang’s voice would downplay it into absurdity. The only time she recalled anyone talking to her like that, asking how she was feeling and letting her decide when to move on, was with her butler Klein. Sure, she’d grown and learned to accept help from her teammates, even gone as far as to consider them family, but this seemed a step beyond.

“I don’t,” Weiss hesitated as she cleared her throat, swallowing the lump that was forming. If Blake or Yang noticed the slight mist accumulating in her eyes, they didn’t say anything. “I don’t think that will be necessary. Thank you.”

“Anytime. Now, would you like to talk about why you’ve been ignoring your feelings for my sister? Or would you prefer I just tease you and tell some awesome jokes until Ruby is done with her shower? I gotta say, some of them are really _pun_ believable. I won’t go on too XiaoLong, but they are pretty Yangtastic, if I do say so myself.”

Weiss just groaned and Yang’s face split into a grin. “No, please. Just no. Anything but your awful puns.”

“Well then, what’s the hold up? If you can vocalize the problem, it makes it that much easier to deal with. And if Weiss Schnee can’t find the words, we might all be doomed.” Yang leaned against Blake again, letting her head tilt questioningly.

Fidgeting again under the scrutiny, Weiss looked towards the bathroom door, contemplating the target of her affections behind it. Like ripping off a band-aid, she decided it would be better to get it all out nice and fast now. “It’s a bit of everything, I suppose. Logically, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense, but the thoughts remain anyway.”

She paused for them to comment, but received no input; only listening ears. Weiss took a breath and let it all out. “What if Ruby doesn’t feel the same? Will that tarnish our friendship now? What will my family do when they find out? If she actually does want to go on dates, what would that even look like? Can I be a good girlfriend and still an objective teammate? _Can_ I even be a good girlfriend? It’s not like I have any experience with this sort of thing.” Weiss hadn’t let herself get too loud, but she still paused to hear the shower. It was still running.

Yang raised her eyebrows at Weiss and teased, “You done? Nice list you got there, sure you don’t want to add more?”

Weiss just rolled her eyes at the smirk on Yang’s face, “No, that’s the jist of it. Everything is pretty much some variation on that.”

“Well,” Blake chimed in, “it helps that your concerns are, in my experience, fairly universal. Both Yang and I share them.” Blake picked her book out of her bag but made no move to actually start reading it.

“I thought you said you two had been dating for over a month now?” Weiss asked, her face awash in confusion and curiosity.

“Yes, but just because we’re in a relationship doesn’t mean those fears go away.” Yang looked at Weiss, making sure to make eye contact. “Your concerns aren’t insignificant, quite the opposite really.”

“Gee, that sure gives me hope for the future.” Weiss figured they had a point to make, she just wanted to get there faster. She wasn’t sure how much longer Ruby would be in the shower, but the more she thought about her possibly walking in on this conversation the antsier she got.

“Actually, it should. Yang and I share our fears and worries with each other all the time. Entering a relationship won’t make those feelings magically disappear. But instead of wallowing in them you’ve got someone to help you overcome them.”

Weiss considered that; it was a good point. “What if—well you said it yourself—I’m a bit blind when it comes to this? Ruby deserves better than that. I don’t want her to be stuck with me once she figures out there’s someone better-suited.”

“I think you’d look pretty good in a suit. Ruby probably would too.” Yang waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“Not helping,” Weiss said with a blush.

“Well, like I said, it’s a valid concern. Just not for you to decide,” Yang added with a shrug.

“I don’t see what you’re—what part? What’s not for me to decide?”

“You get to decide how you feel and what you’re gonna do about it. But that’s about it. Whether Ruby feels the same,” Yang gestured towards the bathroom, “or how your relationship will change is all up in the air and you won’t know until you act.

“As for your family, it doesn’t seem like you let them get in the way of you coming to Beacon. You figured it out and made it happen. I highly doubt your stubborn streak is going to disappear just ‘cuz you want to lock lips with my sister.”

“Hey!”

“Like I said,” Yang shrugged with a casual smile.

Blake just rolled her eyes at her partner’s antics before butting in. “Weiss, your knee-jerk reaction to not being made the leader was pretty awful, but you got some perspective and became better for it. The fact that your reaction this time is being worried you aren’t good enough is likely a step in the right direction.”

Weiss let out a slightly exasperated sigh. “Perhaps.” She looked down and admitted more to herself, “Still feels like crap.”

Yang merely chuckled in response. “Listen to you, cussing an’ stuff! I’m so proud.”

Weiss gave her a scathing look, but with the small smile on her face, they both knew it came from a place of friendship rather than anger. “You would be…”

“And it probably will for a bit, but if you can look at it as progress, it gets easier.” Blake steered them back on course.

But it was Yang that swooped in for the kill. “It’s also great to remember that your first reaction is how you’ve been trained to respond. What you think or do next is closer to how you actually feel about it. So, since you’ve determined how _you_ feel, it’s just a matter of what you’re going to do about it. Because you won’t really know until _you_ ask her.”

Blake cleared her throat at that, drawing both of their attention. “We’re probably running low on time. Was there anything else we could help with right away, Weiss?”

Weiss considered the question for a moment. She hadn’t thought she would, but she did feel much better. Her concerns were pushed back a bit by her teammates’ arguments. Thinking about the role Yang had just had in it, she had confirmed her suspicions that Yang really did put a great deal of thought into her words and actions. Sometimes at least. When it mattered, it would seem. It was something she was exceedingly grateful for, but also intrigued by as she remembered the interactions from dinner.

“Yes, actually. Yang, care to tell me why you got me to excuse myself at dinner? Something you didn’t want me to overhear, perhaps? I’m rather curious as to what that might be.” She leveled her gaze at Yang, scrutinizing every detail to see if Yang would lie or just outright deny her request.

Clearly, she caught Yang and Blake both by surprise, based on their eyebrows shooting up as their eyes opened wide in shock. They recovered quickly enough, with Yang trying to fumble with an excuse.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I mostly just wanted you to know that I was aware of what you were doing.” Weiss tried not to be smug about showing them up, but it was a task.

“No, I— It’s not that. I just, um,” Yang stammered, shooting a look at Blake that clearly said _help_. Blake, however, just rested her chin in her palm and returned with an amused look that told Yang she was on her own.

“Okay, yes. I didn’t want you to hear,” Yang began, her confidence slowly coming back as she went on. “There was some family-related talk that you didn’t need to hear.”

“But you were fine with Blake and all of JNPR hearing?” Weiss was now on the attack. Five minutes ago, she was the one squirming, now she was determined to make it Yang’s turn.

“Well,” Yang hesitated, “It’s a secret, but Blake already knows and it doesn’t affect JNPR.”

“So you’re keeping a secret from just me. Don’t I feel special?”

“Hey, don’t blame me, Ruby is the one who asked me not to say anything. She wanted to be the one to ask you herself,” Yang was quick to add. Weiss thought Yang was making it up as she went along, but wasn’t quite sure. It could be true, or it might just be a giant deflection.

Weiss narrowed her eyes at Yang, deciding whether to believe her or not. It sounded real enough. If it was a lie, what did she think Yang was trying to hide? The only thing she could think of was to talk with Ruby about Weiss, since clearly, Yang had guessed about her feelings.

Then another thought popped up. Right before Cardin had tripped that other student, Ruby was watching Nora eat her pancakes. The crash had distracted everyone enough to forget about the video and the conversation after was about the leaders’ meeting. Now that she was remembering, Weiss was confident that Ruby hadn’t gotten to finish the video.

That seemed irrelevant, but something Ruby had said was sticking in her mind. She remembered Ruby speaking up for her against Yang’s teasing. That had been really sweet. Weiss had had to look away or give away the emotion written all over her face. Shortly after Ruby had said something else, as if she recognized something in the video. The only conversation that would have been left was when she had asked Nora about the song she’d been humming, though.

That wasn’t nothing; if she recognized it, maybe Ruby could help her figure out what this damn song stuck in her head was. First, she needed to see if Yang was trying to bluff. Bringing up the song again might throw the blonde off as well.

“So, if I ask Ruby what you were talking about, that’s what she’ll say?”

“What am I going to say?” Ruby had appeared, walking out of the bathroom in her pajamas, still drying her hair with a towel.

Weiss recovered from the sudden appearance first. “We were discussing what you and Yang were talking about at dinner after I left.” She doubted it would work, but if Ruby thought Yang had already said something, maybe she’d actually say something that would give Weiss a clue.

Ruby had frozen in place at those words. Hand still holding the towel to her hair as her widened eyes flicked between Weiss and Yang. Unfortunately for Weiss, Yang jumped in before Ruby could reveal anything.

“Sorry, Sis, you know how scary Weissicle can get. She only seems to ease up around you. It was getting close enough anyway, she should really know about the trip to Patch anyway.”

The tension in Ruby eased, but instead of vanishing turned into bashfulness. “O-oh. Right. I’d been meaning to tell you about that, Weiss.” She slowly began drying her hair again.

Weiss’ gaze shifted back to Yang for a moment, still suspicious. The brawler in question was trying her best. It was evident, however, by the way she sat at the edge of the bed with her arms tense that Yang was anxiously awaiting Ruby’s next words. Weiss turned back towards Ruby to speak.

“What have you been meaning to tell me?” Weiss maintained her passive composure, but internally she could not help her brain firing off ideas too fast to keep up with. Her stupid feelings were getting in the way; here she was trying to deduce what Yang was up to and her traitorous heart was getting her hopes up. Just because they’d just been talking about her own feelings, there was no reason to hope Ruby was on the same wavelength.

“Well, since Blake and Yang are dating now; I thought it might be nice—” Ruby was seriously too cute. If Weiss didn’t combust on the spot she had no idea how she’d get through the rest of the conversation. “—to take her home to Patch to meet Dad during the next break. Both of them thought it was a good idea and I thought you might like to come with. It would be nice to do something as a team that wasn’t related to schoolwork.”

“Plus, having you there would mean little Rubles wouldn’t have to be a third wheel all the time,” Yang tossed in. Any tension she may have been holding a minute ago appeared to be completely gone as she lazed in Blake’s arms.

Blake, on the other hand, had all but dropped out of the conversation. One arm resting around Yang while the other was holding her book aloft. If not for her ears being swiveled in Ruby and Weiss’ direction, she would have appeared entirely lost in whatever book she was reading.

“Hey! I was the one who suggested she come with in the first place. Maybe we just leave you behind for a day and tour Patch’s bookstores without you,” Ruby suggested and stuck her tongue out. Yang might have worked up the energy for a rebuttal, but Blake chose that moment to start carding her fingers through Yang’s hair.

Any triumph over her supposed win Ruby might have felt slipped back into a slightly nervous smile as she looked back at Weiss. “So, did you want to come with us?”

“Well, since it could be considered a team outing at that point, I’m sure I will have little issue doing so. That sounds far more enjoyable than going back to a mostly-empty house.” Weiss had all but forgotten why this line of questioning had come up. Now, she was just enjoying the warm glow of Ruby asking to spend the school break with her.

Dammit, she really did have it bad.

Nothing major really happened the rest of the evening. They all changed into their pajamas and went to bed, either reading or playing on their scrolls. Weiss sat up in bed and though she had a notebook open in front of her, she made no effort to pretend she was reading it. Thankfully only Blake could see this, but the quiet bookworm made no move to start another conversation. Instead, Weiss was staring off into space. Now that Ruby wasn’t directly in her line of sight, she could think straighter.

She didn’t think they were lying, but she still felt as if the two sisters, and by some extension, Blake, were keeping something from her. The only thing Weiss could link it to was the fact that Yang had definitely stopped Ruby from watching the rest of the video. That could mean Ruby knew what song Nora had been humming.

Weiss still felt embarrassed about asking, despite her team all knowing that she sang in the shower. Was that why Yang had prevented Ruby from hearing? Had Yang just been trying to protect Weiss’ secret like she’d promised or was there something else going on?

That didn’t make much sense, just because Weiss had a song stuck in her head didn’t mean she sang in the shower. If Yang had known the song, or suspected Ruby knew what it was, that would imply she was deliberately keeping Weiss in the dark about it. While that seemed a likely possibility to Weiss, she couldn’t see why.

For a quick joke, Yang might do something like that, but that just didn’t feel right. Yang was going out of her way to reassure Weiss about her feelings, not dismiss them or simply not consider them. So, based on that idea, Yang had to be either protecting Weiss or Ruby from something. Or maybe protecting both of them.

Weiss let out a small huff and closed the notebook, slipping it into her bag next to the bed. Everything that had happened today was swirling around in her head, threatening to spill over. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, attempting to decompress and leave the heavier mental lifting for tomorrow. There were just too many things to consider.

Really, the song was just a distraction that Weiss wasn’t sure why she was still entertaining. She should be focusing more on what to do about her feelings for Ruby. Ideally, she’d just pull Ruby aside at some point soon and lay it all out. That didn’t stop her nerves from going off about it again, though.

With another deep breath Weiss tried to push it all onto the back burner for now, she should be trying to sleep! Aside from a possible impending confession, her thoughts still drifted to her adorkable partner.

Yang may have joked that Ruby invited Weiss for mostly selfish reasons, but Weiss suspected otherwise. Ruby knew Weiss hardly ever enjoyed going back home. Seeing another case where Ruby had been so considerate in regards to Weiss’ feeling was immensely comforting. Whether sleep would come sooner or later, Weiss let her thoughts linger on the source of her growing affection.

Thanks in no small part to Blake and Yang’s shenanigans and meddling, Weiss now felt she could better pinpoint when her feelings had started to blossom. Thinking when that was, Weiss blushed realizing just how long this had all been brewing. It was hard to distinguish the transition from teammate to friend to whatever she was now.

The moment Ruby had solidly slipped her way in was burned into Weiss’ mind. She’d been forced to admit that this girl meant more to her. Maybe not with the same romantic overtones that now plagued her thoughts. Weiss just hadn’t been able to say Ruby was just another teammate or colleague anymore.

Unsurprisingly, considering it was Ruby, it had happened fast and only about a month into their Beacon career.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End points of my chapters... They aren't terrible, I think. But there's more flexibility than I'd have thought. I probably could have added the Ruby flashback to this one... but then it'd be nearly doubled. And I don't mind that, but I haven't quite gotten the rest of the fic hammered out yet. I don't want to leave people high and dry with an off week.
> 
> Brain be weird. Hope you enjoyed. Sorry for the slightly late chapter. Painting is not as physically easy as I thought-lots of repetitive strain. Plus...Mario Odyssey is pretty fun and my brother and I stayed up waaaaaay too late.
> 
> Praises be to the mighty and wild beta, how I managed to snare two is beyond me.  
> [PhoenixCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixCat) and [Matchappreciated](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matchappreciated)


	8. It's Also a Gun and Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The flashback you've all been waiting for! Ruby stumbles in, Weiss has to reevaluate. A great start for both of them, just not quite on the same wavelength.

The first time Weiss had been caught singing had really been her own fault. She’d seen parts of Crescent Rose disassembled and Ruby’s cleaning kit out, but no sign of the speedy girl upon entering the dorm. After showering and still no Ruby, Weiss had let herself relax and continued singing and humming, taking the extra alone time to finish her attempts at a more boppy song than her usual repertoire.

Weiss was cursorily intrigued that something had distracted Ruby from her precious weapon. Not for the first time, Weiss mused that having some strange eccentricity was something that factored into Ozpin’s decision-making when choosing team leaders. The thought that Ruby’s exuberant love of cookies and weapons had been deciding factors in her leadership position didn’t have the same hold over Weiss as it may have when their team had first been formed.

Ruby had long earned Weiss’ respect as a leader; too many team training sessions and real-world fights left no room to doubt that Ruby was learning to be a great leader. The little speedster could strategize and make connections in battle that even Weiss had to admit would have tripped her up. Even if she could be a total dolt about other things, Ruby managed to meet almost every new challenge with unbridled optimism.

Weiss remembered Yang having to restrain the weapon enthusiast during the first full tour of Beacon. When they had gotten to the workshop where Beacon students could clean, fine-tune, or fully craft weapons, Ruby had nearly taken off at full speed to personally inspect everything. Thankfully, Yang had a quick and lengthy arm which had gotten a hold of a certain red hood before a single rose petal had been created.

Watching Ruby fruitlessly struggle, but somehow still hear everything the guide had mentioned about the extensive workshop, Weiss had made a mental note to be wary of Ruby’s more enthusiastic outbursts. After the first month however, Weiss was positive there was no stopping Ruby from being so… Ruby. She had practically redefined the definition of ‘childlike excitement’ for Weiss. Even the cafeteria being out of cookies had caused but a moment of overly dramatic despair—one of the defining traits she and her sister shared it would seem. Ruby had simply bounced back a minute later by being happy someone else had gotten to eat the cookies; that and Yang reminding her of the not-so-secret, secret stash in the dorm.

As if she had summoned the girl by thinking about her, Ruby had appeared out of nowhere. It was particularly distressing that Weiss hadn’t heard the door open because she had still been softly singing to herself. It wasn’t something she often did, but the song had been so catchy and so outside of her preferred genres that she couldn’t help but indulge herself.

Ruby had squealed in delight and immediately started pulling Weiss towards the door by the wrist. “Wait until Yang hears--she _loves_ that song! She will flip her sh--”

“ _No_!” Weiss yelled as she broke out of Ruby’s grip. “Ruby! N-no. I don't want anyone to know. Please don't tell anyone! I'll- I'll let you have all the dessert you want at dinner! Or get you some cookies--I'll take you to that new bakery you keep mentioning!”

Ruby's eyes practically turned into heart-shaped cookies. “ _Really_?!?” Ruby shook her head and wiped away some forming drool. “That'd be great Weiss, but you don't have to go if you don't want to. I won't tell anyone. I promise!” Ruby held out her pinkie finger on her left hand and twitched it invitingly. 

Weiss stared in shock and mild confusion at the offered finger. “You... won't? Just like that? But why? You were just excited about telling Yang and likely everyone else in earshot. And why are you waving your finger in my face?”  
It was Ruby's turn to be confused, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow, “Have you never heard of a Pinkie-Promise?” Seeing Weiss' continued suspicion, Ruby hurried to explain. “You shake your pinkie fingers together, like a handshake, but it's just the one finger, so it's more binding!”

“How is only the one more binding than a full handshake?” Ruby wiggled her pinkie at her again, still smiling. Weiss begrudgingly indulged her by grabbing the offered pinkie with her own. “You know the physical presence of this 'pinkie promise' makes no difference. You still didn't say why you promised not to tell in the first place.”  
“Because you asked me not to,” Ruby said with a casual shrug. “Though, I'll totally take you up on the offer to visit that bakery. It's supposed to be huge--ovens the size of Ursai! And apparently they got a bunch of bakers from all over Remnant so they have _lots_ of different--” Ruby blushed, realizing she was still holding Weiss' pinkie. Quickly dropping it and placing her hands behind her back, she said, “That is... i-if you wanted to go with me. I would certainly appreciate it. I’m sure it would be,” she paused to find a ‘Weiss appropriate word,’ “an enriching and--”

Ruby’s words stumbled slightly as she saw the concern on Weiss’ face turn to amusement and intrigue. “And--” Ruby’s breath caught as she tried to think of words to say, but it was suddenly more difficult with Weiss’ piercing blue eyes staring at her.

“And…” Weiss trailed off, hoping to prompt Ruby’s thoughts forward.

“And informative! And-uh,” Ruby was scrambling now, she didn’t know why, but she really wanted to visit this bakery with Weiss now. Or anywhere, just as long as Weiss kept looking at her like that.

“And FUN! It will be enriching, informative, and fun.” Ruby finished with a grin.

Weiss couldn’t help but chuckle and shake her head in amused disbelief. “You know, those first two mean the same thing, Ruby.”

“Enriching for the belly, informative for the mind,” Ruby said assuredly.

Weiss let out another, louder chuckle, which only made Ruby smile bigger. “You dolt, I suppose with an argument like that,” Weiss cleared her throat and looked away, unsure why Ruby’s mannerism seemed so funny just now. “I did say I’d take you, even if it was under duress.”

“D’awww. Thanks, Weiss. I’m sure it’ll be great!” Ruby rushed forward and enveloped Weiss in a quick hug. Brief as it was, Weiss had only stiffened at the suddenness of the contact. Surprising them both though, Weiss actually hugged Ruby back. It was more of a pat on the back, but it was still way more than either of them had been expecting.

Now it was Ruby’s turn to clear her throat and look away. “I should uh- I should finish up cleaning Crescent Rose.”

“Of course. Whenever you want to head out to the bakery just let me know, perhaps over the next weekend?” Weiss moved out of the way so Ruby could get to the desk.

“That sounds great, Weiss! Thanks again for the offer,” Ruby said as she sat down. Her back now facing Weiss, Ruby said much quieter, “Your voice is very beautiful.”

Weiss wasn’t sure if she had been meant to hear that declaration or not. Blushing, Weiss whispered, “Thank you.” If Ruby heard she made no comment. Weiss was just grateful Ruby hadn’t been looking at her. The honesty and innocence that Ruby had spoken with had made Weiss’ breath hitch. She had revealed what her family would consider a weakness. A chink in her otherwise stoic armor. Ruby had brushed right past it, no real attempt or thought of exploiting it.

Then there was the bakery. She had gone right along with it just because Ruby had asked. That was only because she wanted to thank the younger girl for her cooperation and consideration, right? But Ruby had made it clear she didn’t want or need any kind of bribe to not spread the word.

When they did go to the bakery that following weekend, Weiss really had no idea what to expect. What she found was surprisingly enjoyable. It seemed Ruby had accounted for the atmosphere of the place just as much as how good their cookies were. As the bubbly girl had mentioned, their ovens had been quite sizable. Or at least the three they had on semi-display so customers could watch things bake, were. Only once they’d gotten their drinks and Ruby had a plate with the same pastry made by four or five different chefs did Weiss decide to open up to Ruby. Weiss had picked an empty corner in case they did talk about her past, trying to choose where to start, she observed Ruby for a few minutes. She seemed perfectly content to just enjoy her pastries and hadn’t brought up Weiss singing or music in any way. Ruby was clearly the one better at being a good friend, but Weiss supposed if she was going to continue making good on her promise to be the best teammate ever she should find at least small ways to open up to Ruby. Nothing in the past month of school gave her any reason to doubt Ruby’s sincerity. Discussing music tastes was a safe enough topic to start building camaraderie. Even if it did lead to more unpleasant bits of her history.

Maybe there was more to this “friends” thing than Weiss realized.

* * *

RUBY

Weiss could sing!

Not only that, but her voice had been absolutely amazing. It was so captivating. When Ruby had walked back in the room, it had taken her a moment to place the song. It sounded familiar, but never would she have guessed that something Yang liked to listen to in nightclubs could sound so… Breathtakingly beautiful.

Ruby had been trying to control her breathing. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding in so much air when Weiss had been staring at her, awaiting a description of the bakery. Once that was out of the way she could breathe freely again. Except now that she was turned away from Weiss, trying to focus on her weapon, she was struggling again. Never would Ruby have imagined leaving Crescent Rose to go get a snack would turn into such an astounding and interesting revelation.

Now she was disappointed she hadn’t been able to hear the rest of it. Ruby wasn’t usually a fan of Yang’s collection of music, but she was pretty sure the song Weiss had been singing also had some rapping in it. Hearing Weiss rap was definitely something she never would have thought of, but now she desperately needed it. Maybe she could start waking up earlier, if Weiss sang when she was alone, perhaps Ruby could overhear her in the mornings.

That probably wasn’t a good idea. Weiss had been very upset when she thought Ruby was going to tell everyone. She had never seen Weiss talk so fast, or look so afraid. One day she might find out why it upset her so much, but for now she’d just have to silently support her partner. 

That’s what BFFs were for right? Did this make them best friends? Ruby wanted Weiss to be her best friend.

A flash of Weiss’ blue eyes stuck out in her brain. Ruby could see them change from concerned to confused to relieved to… warm.

Once Ruby had started describing the bakery, Weiss’ concerns had melted away. Ruby only caught brief glances because of her short rambling, but Weiss’ whole demeanor had shifted and relaxed. Warm was the best Ruby could describe the look she’d seen. Had Weiss been looking fondly at Ruby’s runaway mouth? She had certainly been amused, which was nice. Anytime Ruby could get Weiss to smile, she considered it a win. That was all it probably was. Weiss was relieved and amused at Ruby’s antics.

Still, something about the way it felt, even if it was just a pinkie finger. They’d both forgotten for a moment the connection was there, and it had been Ruby that noticed first. And then the hug!

Weiss had actually hugged her back!

Ruby glanced over her shoulder to where Weiss was sitting. Nothing seemed different about the studious girl. Was it just because Ruby knew that prim and proper Weiss liked to sing hip hop that changed everything? Weiss paused grabbing materials from her book bag when she felt Ruby’s gaze on her.

Ruby quickly whipped her head back around and tried to focus on cleaning Crescent Rose. She felt her face warm and could practically feel Weiss’ questioning gaze on her back. If it wasn’t Weiss that was acting different, then it had to be Ruby herself.

_Her voice was really pretty._

She’d cleaned most everything before ducking out to get a snack. Once air dried, reassembling her sweetheart would only take her a few minutes. Now Ruby couldn’t get the feeling of Weiss’ hug or her piercing eyes out of her head.

“Something wrong, Ruby?” She heard Weiss inquire while standing up and making her way over.

Ruby quickly picked up a rag so it at least looked like she was doing something. “Nope. I’m good. Just, uh, making sure I didn’t lose any voices—Pieces! Don’t want to be missing any pieces.”

Weiss just rolled her eyes and sighed. More embarrassed now than annoyed. “You can go ahead and ask if you’d like, dolt. You already found out, I just don’t want more people knowing if I can avoid it.”

“It’s fine. I won’t pry. You don’t have to tell me anything about it if you don’t want to. Like I said, I promise not to say a word. Just ask Yang, the pinkie promise is sacred.” Ruby hoped her silliness would distract Weiss long enough for her cheeks to stop being so flushed. _It had just been so beautiful._

“Th-Thank you,” Weiss said with a blush of her own. “I have been practicing a long time. After a while I started exploring different genres of music.”

Ruby’s heart thundered in her ears. She hadn’t realized she’d said that last thought out loud. “Well,” she trailed off, trying to think of what to say now. Finally turning around to face Weiss, with a smile, she said, “It really shows!” _What was that? You call that a compliment?!? Get it together, Rose._

“It never really came up. It doesn’t pertain much to fighting Grimm, so,” Weiss let the thought die out.

Ruby noticed Weiss start to shrink in on herself again. How could she have been so stupid! Of course Weiss didn’t really want to talk about it, she was just being nice ‘cauz Ruby had been staring. Before Ruby could speak up to reassure Weiss she didn’t have to explain anything Weiss spoke again.

“Also, I’m not big on performing. My father, he—I just don’t like performing.” Weiss was surprised at herself that she’d even said anything. Ruby hadn’t even asked, but here she was saying it anyway. Not all of it, but she had just willingly opened up with hardly any prompting.

Ruby stood back up and looked like she was ready to wrap Weiss in another hug, instead she clasped her hands in front of her. “That’s okay Weiss. And you don’t owe me an explanation. Though, if you ever do need to talk about it, or anything else, you can always count on me. You promised to be the best teammate, well, I’m promising to be the best partner you could have.”

Weiss smiled back at Ruby, it was decidedly a warm, thankful smile this time. Ruby tried not to stare. “Thank you, again, Ruby,” she said as she turned back to her bed and her homework. “Maybe… maybe ask me again at the bakery. It might be nice to share my music with someone else.”

Ruby stared for a moment longer, trying to push away the swelling feeling blossoming in her chest. She had to get Crescent Rose back together. Just because her amazingly beautiful partner could also sing did not mean she could afford to get distracted.

Absently, Ruby took out her scroll and started playing some music so she could focus on her work. Of course, then she heard a sigh from behind her. In her musing, Ruby had somehow forgotten that not only was she not alone, but the person which her growing affection was for was sitting five feet away.

Opening her mouth to apologize for the noise and turn it off, Ruby turned to look at Weiss again. She stopped and nearly got lost staring again. Weiss had removed her bolero. It took all of Ruby's power to not let her brain fry at the suddenly bare shoulders and to remember why she'd turned around in the first place. However, turning off the music wasn't necessary because Weiss was already absorbed in her homework. There was a small smile on the white-haired girls lips and it appeared the sigh had been more of a pleased hum.

Grinning to herself, Ruby turned the volume up and got back to work. Whether or not her feelings were more than a crush, Ruby intended to keep good on her promise to be the best partner Weiss could have.

The next song started to play. It was by one of Yang’s favorite bands, Imagine Dragons. Ruby had liked it but now, having heard Weiss sing something similar, wondered how it would sound if Weiss sang it. That thought made her sigh internally at how silly she was being. Nevertheless, Ruby listened for what felt like the first time and took note to relisten later. She was getting the feeling it might be her new favorite song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting close to the end. I hope you enjoyed these dorks. It was fun, but hard to only write them as tentative friends. Though it did give me good ideas of what their first date might be...  
> NOT YET! Weiss is done with her flashback memories, now she just needs to figure out that blasted song.  
> That said there was a clue.  
> ALSO! I'll be posting a backstoryTM chapter soon (just waiting on a final round of edits) It'll probably turn this au into a series. It's headcanon I have for Weiss in this but I felt it didn't fit with the outline for this story. Though it does have another clue towards what the song is. Pretty confident Weiss will find out next week. Please comment with your ideas. :3 trollbrain wishes to know.
> 
> Tldr: When I started writing this I began with Chapter 1, but there was an extra 3 pages of Weiss character study that is neat and I'm posting it anyway.
> 
> Big thanks to the betas as always. Life has been kinda kicking my a** lately and they've helped me stay mostly on track.  
> [PhoenixCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixCat) and [Matchappreciated](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matchappreciated)
> 
> EDIT: I made an edit to one of the paragraphs near the end... I realized I done goofed. Like, I feel like the painter of the Lady with the Pearl earring (or whatever it was called) WHO FORGOT TO PAINT THE EARRING! Like, big brain derp. It's small, inconsequential but... it matters to me so, there ya go.


	9. Hopeless Opus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team training!
> 
> OR, as I like to think of it: An excuse for physical contact!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLOOO! so I kinda fell behind...  
> Life kinda kicked my ass and I had a cold, and things are happening... bleeeeeh
> 
> So yeah, there's only a few chapters left, and I'm (eehhhhh) half-wayish on all of them. I am hopeful they will all be posted in this glorious month of Halloween! (Perfect gift for Ruby, right?)
> 
> Again, sorry for the delay. Beware of Second-hand Embarrassment TM with this one.  
> Now back to your regularly scheduled gay!panic.

Weiss woke up more relaxed than she could remember feeling in quite some time. Since the room was still dark and she didn’t feel like hiding it anyway, Weiss let out a soft, contented sigh. She smiled, no thought of lying to herself or attempting to dissuade herself of the truth. Her improved quality of sleep had everything to do with the memories of Ruby. 

She couldn’t even properly recall when she’d fallen asleep, her memory of the way Ruby had made her feel special about her singing voice blending seamlessly into a dream that had been more of the same. Weiss was sure she was over-heightening it with nostalgia, but even still. It had been quite enjoyable and even informative, as Ruby had said, to go to that bakery. Mostly because it had been with Ruby. Weiss doubted it would have been anything like the same experience with anyone else. Something about Ruby going out of her way to sample something unique to each kingdom had set a pleasant mood from the start. At the time, Weiss had even considered it all a success despite the less than pleasant conversation about how her music tastes had formed.

Weiss’ contentment and relaxed nature lasted until about half-way through team training. After a leisurely breakfast and a slow morning of tidying the dorm, they all headed to the training rooms. They decided that afterwards they’d head into Vale for lunch and see what the day out offered. In general, just a simple plan to hang out and not have to stress too much about anything. 

They started with a few full team maneuvers, mostly just refreshing their standard fallbacks. Since they often got split up and not many things required all four of them to be focused on one target, they quickly broke off into partner combos. Even though Yang had said she had some things she wanted to test out, it really seemed to Weiss that she just wanted an excuse to toss Blake into the air. Ruby did have a few suggestions for them, but overall the training went smoothly. That was, of course, until Ruby wanted to start doing some moves with Weiss.

They didn’t really need to practice IceFlower or waste the dust rounds doing so. Weiss also pointed out that there wasn’t much purpose in needlessly wasting both of their Auras just for Ruby to practice bouncing between Weiss’ glyphs at high speeds. Weiss was ready to pack it up when Ruby mentioned she actually had a couple other possible combos for them to work on. She should have prepared herself, but when Ruby rushed to grab Weiss’ hand and lead them to the more open area away from the training dummies, Weiss felt like she became the dummy.

For aerial attacks, they were all pretty well set on their own, they did all possess solid ranged skills. Weiss, especially, because she was used to maneuvering herself with her glyphs and incorporating the different angles that they provided her with. But as far as team attacks, usually Blake and Yang did more of the up-close aerial combat. Between her glyphs and Ruby’s speed/sniper rifle, they often found themselves dealing with the farther range and let Yang and Blake deal more melee damage. With Yang’s brute strength and the versatile nature of Blake’s ribbon, the two were quite formidable together.

“Yang, you and Blake keep riffing on what you were just doing. Or if you want to head back to the dorm to get ready for going out, that’s fine. I’ve just got one or two things for me and Weiss and I know we’ll want a lot of space in case they flop. Or we flop. Hopefully, there will be no flopping!” Ruby finished with an enthusiastic thumbs up, which Yang returned, while chuckling out a vague mumbled  _ Mkay _ .

“So, what exactly are you thinking, Ruby?” Weiss inquired. She raised an eyebrow and shook their conjoined hands in confusion. She was trying not to stare, but if Ruby didn’t start explaining her idea soon that task would be very difficult. It was less hand-holding and almost a handshake position now. Weiss thought that was odd, but considering her team leader, not much would surprise her at this point.

“Well, a couple variations on the same stuff Blake and Yang were actually just doing. The idea would be kind of… Rubber-band ourselves into the air. I think you could bounce us with your glyphs and then I could sort of... fling you even higher.” Ruby finally let go of Weiss’ hand to attempt making hand motions to describe what she was talking about. She did extend her hand back out expectantly when she paused with a grin. Weiss’ realized that was all the explanation she was getting at the moment and that somehow the pseudo-handshake had been part of Ruby’s attack idea.

“We can give it a try, though I’m not entirely sure what uses this has. Although, I’d appreciate it if you’d choose a different word. I don’t much like the idea of being ‘flung’ anywhere.” Weiss hesitantly reached her arm back out for Ruby to grab.

“Like, when I needed to run up the cliff during initiation, only now there would be two people! Double the efficiency. A real  _ boost, _ if you’d rather.” Ruby grabbed Weiss by the forearm, prompting Weiss to grip her tightly in return.

Weiss just sighed and rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. “‘Boost’ is a much better word, thank you. Just, tell me how high you want me to shoot us with the first glyph, we’ll see what happens after that.” 

“Oh, just shoot us about 10 feet. That would get us over the heads of the average Grimm. I’ll take care of it after that. I doubt you’ll reach the vaulted ceiling but watch out just in case.”

Weiss made sure her rapier wouldn’t be in a position to hit either of them as she created the spinning glyph below them. “We’ll see,” she said and when she got a nod from Ruby, launched them into the air. That was Weiss’ last coherent, objectively minded, thought for a while. For reasons passing understanding, Weiss had fallen into the trap that most people probably had when first looking at Ruby. Petite, shy, unassuming girl. Weiss knew better, or at least she thought she had. At this point, they had all had their own landing strategy and ways to jump to high places for quite some time. So whenever the need arose for even more height, it was usually Yang’s strength or Weiss’ glyphs that got the job done. Weiss knew Ruby was no slouch in the physical strength department, but still, her expectations for Ruby’s idea were fairly low.

Just as Weiss felt gravity start to take a hold of them, Ruby’s grip tightened. Using her semblance, Ruby corkscrewed them up another few feet while rearranging their positions in the air. Now at a good angle, Ruby used the momentum her semblance had created and the sheer strength she’d developed from training with her scythe to launch Weiss higher in the air.

Thankfully, muscle memory and training kicked in, because otherwise, Weiss might have collided unpleasantly into the ceiling. Instead she rotated and spring-boarded off it back towards the ground. _Just how_ _much strength is she packing away?_

She tried to memorize the sensation so she could give a critique or simply so it wouldn’t catch her so off guard next time. Weiss blushed slightly as she reflected on how it felt to be briefly wrapped up by Ruby’s whirlwind. How Ruby had so easily, well,  _ flung _ her was similar to some of the sweeping motions Weiss had seen her use with Crescent Rose. She was still fast approaching the ground when she realized she’d gotten lost in thought.

She didn’t have the space to use as many glyphs to slow herself down as she normally would have. Weiss was forced to consider she might have still been reeling in surprise when she landed faster than she would prefer in Ruby’s arms. That, or it was the fact that she let Ruby catch her in the first place. As out of character as it would be for her, she just couldn’t find it in herself to be annoyed. The feeling of landing in Ruby’s arms and even more so the feeling of continuing to be held was something she was quickly finding enjoyable. Now that she had a better understanding of how strong Ruby was, Weiss was willing to let herself be held for a bit longer than was strictly necessary. Seeing the apologetic look on Ruby’s face, Weiss hoped the slight squeeze she’d given to Ruby’s bicep had either gone unnoticed or passed as her merely restabilizing herself.

“Sorry about that, Weiss. Didn’t think I’d put that much force into it.” Ruby chuckled hesitantly. “Your fall didn’t quite look right, figured that was probably the fault of my throw so,” Ruby just trailed off with a shrug. While that action did draw attention to the fact that she’d caught Weiss, it was rather unnecessary. Not only because Weiss would need no reminders for some time, but more importantly, because Weiss was still in her arms. A fact Ruby didn’t seem particularly concerned about; her casual nature showing no signs that it was a strain to continue doing so, or that the action was odd or out of place.

Weiss did have a problem with it, a couple problems, actually. First, was that she was annoyed that she had even been distracted enough in her landing strategy to prompt Ruby to intercept her fall. Second, and more pressing to Weiss’ current growing predicament, was it felt really nice and she didn’t want Ruby to stop. Luckily, or unluckily, depending on the point of view, Yang called out. Thus delaying Weiss’ need to speak up about being set down so soon.

“Yo, Blake and I are gonna head back and wash up now. If we leave before you guys get back, we’ll text you where to meet up for lunch.”

“Okay, Sis. Don’t use up all the hot water,” Ruby shouted back, blessedly away from Weiss’ ear.

“Well, don’t take too long or we’ll just have to have lunch without you,” Yang called back, sticking out her tongue. “Oh, and Weiss, if you keep letting Ruby catch you like that, I might have to start calling you Ice Princess. Don’t want to get demoted now do we?” Yang followed Blake out the door with a wink. They could hear her cackling out in the hall as both Weiss and Ruby blushed, fully realizing how their positions looked.

Wondering how she’d managed to forget they’d had an audience in the space of the three minutes it took to perform their maneuver, Weiss finally cleared her throat and spoke up. “You can, um… You can set me down now, Ruby. Thank you, for catching me and all. I have to admit, I was not expecting you to launch me as high as you did. Still not sure on the practical application, but we can certainly give it some more thought and try some refining.”

“Right, right,” Ruby said hurriedly as she set Weiss on her feet. “Again, sorry about that. Though, I suppose if we ever need to get you to the top of a cliff super fast, that might help. I’m sure we’ll come up with something! That high up you could probably hit loads of Grimm.”

“Was there anything else you wanted to test out?” Weiss brushed some imaginary dirt off her skirt. Mostly just to avoid looking directly at Ruby and hopefully rein in the blush she was sure was on her face.

“Well, I really want to find out how fast I can go now. During the food fight I did something at the end that was definitely faster than I’ve gone before. It felt different somehow. I think I’ll wait until Goodwitch has us working with our semblances to see just how fast I can really go. But I was thinking it’d be pretty neat to see if I can carry anyone else with me. I can usually do some attacks while running, but I thought maybe if I was carrying one of you guys, I could focus on direction and speed and whoever was with me could focus on attacks.” Ruby was visibly excited by this idea, if a bit apprehensive.

“Have you ever tried to bring someone along when you use your semblance before?” Weiss didn’t want to quash Ruby’s idea, but her stomach did an unpleasant flop at the thought of moving as fast as she’d seen Ruby go.

“Not yet, Yang and I almost tried a couple years ago, but that was pre-Crescent Rose so I didn’t have the upper-arm strength to pick her up. We tried just holding hands, but she quickly let go saying she didn’t feel like losing an arm. But since you’re lighter and we just saw I can throw you, I should be able to carry you and still slowly speed up to make it an easier transition.” Ruby smiled and held out her arms again.

“Well,” Weiss paused, still a bit apprehensive. “I suppose it’s worth a shot. Though I’m not sure what method would be the best. None of the traditional carrying methods seem to lend themselves to allowing me to swing Myrtenaster or even fire off Dust attacks. Let’s see if it works first, I guess, then we can worry about attacks once the concept is proven.” Weiss couldn’t believe she was agreeing to this. If someone was hurt and needed evacuation, she reasoned that knowing Ruby could carry them out fast would be beneficial. She set her rapier down out of the way and turned back to Ruby.

“I could pick you up like I just caught you; that would probably be the easiest way to carry you. Some variation of a piggy-back ride might leave you able to use your hands, or at least one hand. Though, in battle, it would probably be faster and easier just to pick you up around the middle like a giant hug!” Ruby unstrapped her scythe and set it next to Myrtenaster.

“Let’s try that, then,” Weiss quickly agreed. She wasn’t sure it would be any less awkward, but avoiding another “princess carry” was high on her list. By not having her face in view while being carried, Weiss ensured Ruby would at least not be able to see Weiss have the aneurysm that this exercise would likely induce. 

It was all Weiss could do to maintain her steady breathing as Ruby scooped her up into her arms. Like she’d said, it really was just a giant hug. Weiss wasn’t used to this much contact, but she was reasonably sure it would be less awkward for her to also wrap her arms around Ruby. The extra stability would help, if nothing else.

“Okay, I’m going to just jog and work up to a sprint before turning around near the far wall to activate my semblance. Holler if anything is wrong.” Ruby called over the shoulder Weiss wasn’t leaning against.

Weiss barely got out an “Alright,” before they were off. The first thing she noticed, besides the slightly unpleasant bouncing of Ruby’s legs, was the scent of roses. She knew Ruby used rose-scented shampoo, but being this close was an entirely different experience. Then Weiss noted how much distance they had already covered. Ruby may have said “jog,” but Weiss felt like this was most people’s average running speed. She considered maybe it was just because she was moving backwards much faster than she was used to. That was until Ruby reached her sprinting speed.

If Weiss had been impressed by Ruby’s strength before, seeing how fast she could run while burdened with extra weight was making her reevaluate her own endurance training. Her appreciation stayed academic until, in an effort to limit the bouncing she was experiencing and stay out of the way of Ruby’s legs, her own legs instinctively wrapped around Ruby’s midsection. Now, looking for all the world like a deranged koala, Weiss could better feel the shifting and straining of Ruby’s muscles. Thankfully Weiss could feel Ruby slow down as they neared the far wall. Once Ruby activated her semblance, Weiss was hoping she’d have things to think about other than Ruby’s abdominal muscles flexing to carry her.

Rather than turn around and burst into speed, Ruby paused for a moment. “Um, Weiss, I, uh,” Ruby cleared her throat. “I’m not quite slipping, but it would probably be easier to keep a hold of you if I held your, um. If I held you around your thighs. You moving your legs helped a lot, by the way. I hadn’t even thought about that.”

Weiss was infinitely glad Ruby could not see her face. “O-Of course, this was your idea, Dolt. Whichever makes it easier. You are literally the one doing all the heavy lifting.” Weiss tried to hold still, but her brain was being overworked by trying to cope with the amount and nature of physical contact she was experiencing. She was grateful Ruby also wore a combat skirt, meaning she knew how to flatten and tuck to avoid grabbing bare skin. On the other hand, quick as it was, that still meant she felt Ruby graze past her rear, putting thoughts in her head she wasn’t prepared to deal with. As she’d told Blake, these were things that Weiss had not considered until she started admitting that she had feelings for the little, red reaper.

“Alright, if you’re still good, the plan is to, again, start slow, but if it’s not an issue, to reach my normal high speeds. We’ll do a couple laps and call it a day.” Ruby adjusted her grip one last time, sending another wave of jitters through Weiss unintentionally.

Realizing Ruby was waiting for her this time, Weiss cleared her throat before giving her agreement. “Sounds fine.” She didn’t trust herself to say much else, instead, as she felt Ruby take off, Weiss tightened her grip and shut her eyes.

Weiss could feel the air rushing past them, but not much else. Though she was clearly using her semblance, Ruby must not have been going much faster than her “normal” sprinting speed. After Weiss felt them turn around the first time she faintly heard Ruby shout something about kicking it up a notch. The smell of roses increased dramatically and strangely enough, the rush of wind seemed less intense than it was a moment ago.

Weiss opened her eyes to the training room like she’d never seen it. When she used time dilation or speed glyphs, she could keep up with the speeds Ruby usually travelled at for a short while. This had to be leagues faster. Like being in an airship, instead of everything being extremely blurred like she had expected, Weiss found she could clearly make out the training dummies on the other side of the room. Then Weiss’ vision blurred as Ruby took them through another turn; it happened so fast Weiss could barely feel it. It took less than a second for the training dummies to disappear from view. When Weiss could see clearly again they were turned 180 degrees and already a good distance away from the point at which they’d turned.

Weiss felt like she could pull back a bit, even look around. It would take some getting used to, but she could understand why Ruby loved rushing everywhere. Slowly moving her head and her left arm so as to not disrupt her leader, Weiss mimed moving through a couple basic sword attacks. Turning around, seeing yet another wall, Weiss tapped Ruby’s shoulder and threw out a handful of glyphs up and down the approaching wall. Hearing Ruby giggle with joy, Weiss re-established her grip.

There was no additional pull from gravity as Ruby ran up and then back down the path Weiss had made for her. The rapid changing of angles didn’t slow Ruby down in the slightest. Faster than Weiss could blink, they were at the opposite wall again.

One more, even faster u-turn and Weiss heard Ruby say, “Here we go!”

Then, the world melted around them. From Weiss’ perspective, it was like everything she perceived was just paint on a canvas that someone started swirling together into an unrecognizable goop. Everything, that was, except Ruby. Later, she would tell anyone who asked that it was so she didn’t get sick or develop a headache, but she couldn’t lie to herself. She took the moment to pull back from Ruby’s shoulder and stare unabashedly into her partner’s face, focusing on the only thing that was, in fact, in focus for her.

Ruby was obviously enjoying herself, but she was also concentrating intensely. Weiss couldn’t fathom how Ruby was guiding them. She was pretty sure they weren’t even touching the ground anymore. She idly started to wonder how long Ruby could keep this up without running into anything when Ruby caught her staring. Weiss swore her heart stopped when Ruby just stared back and grinned. So mirthful and caring, so uniquely Ruby.

Of course it didn’t last, with one last corkscrew spin she felt the wind rushing at them again. With the centrifugal force pushing on them, they almost spun out in opposite directions. Instead, as the world came back into focus around them, Ruby had grabbed onto Weiss’ arms again. Ruby had cut off her speed at the top of their spin and Weiss saw they were now spinning in freefall three-quarters the way up to the ceiling. Once again, Weiss found herself a bit dumbfounded by Ruby’s level of control. Or luck, she couldn’t quite decide which.

Before any panic could set in, Weiss caught Ruby’s gaze again. She felt herself smiling and almost laughing along with her silver-eyed dolt of a leader.

“Um, Weiss? Care to slow us down a bit? I don’t think we want to end up as pancakes.” Ruby’s laugh had cut off, but the shit-eating grin was still present on her face. Weiss blushed as she realized she’d somehow ignored the ground that was rushing to meet them.

With a few well-placed glyphs, they were back on their feet, resting safely on the floor. Their arms were still holding tight to each other, at least until they caught their breath, right? Weiss knew she should say something, but words still escaped her. Everything that had just happened was overloading her senses. She’d just been telling herself that she would remain as Ruby’s friend, how was she supposed to act now?

“So, whatcha think? Honestly, that worked a lot better than I anticipated. And that wall-running was awesome! I hadn’t considered something like that. Using both our semblances in tandem could be super useful!!” Ruby was grinning like crazy and still practically bouncing off the walls. Weiss was still trying to recover her breath and Ruby looked as if she hadn’t just run a mile or two carrying someone else.

“That-that was,” Weiss tried to wrap her head around her emotions so she could give useful feedback. It didn’t help that all it felt like she did was stare at Ruby, like right now. Breaking eye contact, Weiss let her gaze wander in hopes of a faster recovery. Sadly, the moment she did, she noticed what was littered all around them. She knew Ruby’s semblance generated rose petals, but the training room floor was practically covered in them. Since Ruby had finished with a spin upwards, there was a particularly thick layer in a ring around them. This time, however, the petals were different. Weiss felt like she was about to overheat and explode as her blush came rushing back.

_ Why are they  _ pink _?!? _ Weiss cleared her throat, despite trying to put it out of her mind, she couldn’t help but start spinning around and looking at all the petals everywhere. Glad that she knew from experience that they faded after a few minutes, she was mortified by the possibility of someone walking in right now.

“That was,” Weiss saw various shades of red, white, and pink scattered everywhere she turned. “Definitely an experience.” When she turned back around, Ruby was thankfully no longer looking her way. She needed to recompose herself.

“But a good one, right? Oh wow! Look at all those petals! I didn’t think there’d be so many. Maybe because you were along? I don’t suppose it makes much difference, but it’d be interesting to see how many more get generated the more people I bring with me.” Ruby seemed completely unfazed by the color variation; maybe she wouldn’t mention it. “Hmm, I didn’t expect them to change, but I guess if I had, I’d have thought they’d be blueish rather than white.” Or not. “Oh well, they’re really pretty, don’t you think, Weiss? Pity they fade so fast.”

Weiss did  _ not _ need this level of Ruby sweetness so soon after being nearly overloaded by physical contact. “Well, it’s good they do, otherwise we’d be here for hours cleaning them up.” Weiss scoffed and tried to default back to her usual level of aloofness. The dusting of red on her cheeks would have to be excused as a result of exertion, even though she hadn’t done much but be carried.

“Well, I could just clean them up super fast if I use my—Oh, right, that would just make more petals.” Ruby blushed and ran her fingers through her hair in embarrassment.

“You dolt,” Weiss said as she shook her head and chuckled. “We should probably head back. Trying to move around with all these on the floor would be hazardous. Blake and Yang are almost surely ready to leave, anyway.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll shoot Yang a text anyway. Don’t want to walk in on them if they’re being couple-y again.” Ruby walked over to where their weapons were as she pulled out her scroll and messaged Yang.

Ignoring the implications of Ruby’s comment, Weiss also started to walk over. It was impossible to get anywhere without trampling through rose petals. With Ruby distracted with her scroll and retrieving their weapons, Weiss reached down and grabbed a handful. She didn’t know why she’d never tried before, but this was the first time she’d ever felt the roses that Ruby made. Soft and velvety, they were absolutely stunning, each and every one of them.

Weiss let them slip through her fingers back to the ground, then stopped before the last one could. It was perfect. She didn’t know what it was, but something about the way the white mixed with the red on this one in particular was appealing to her. The texture, she discovered, was also rather soothing. Even though it would disappear in a few minutes, Weiss couldn’t find it in herself to let it go. Having finally steadied her breathing and calmed down to not be so embarrassed from all the touching, Weiss looked back up in Ruby’s direction. Seeing her headed back with both weapons, Weiss hid the petal in her right hand and accepted Myrtenaster in her left.

“Ready when you are, Weiss.” Ruby holstered her weapon as Weiss did the same. Weiss noticed that it almost seemed like Ruby was going to hold out her elbow for Weiss to grab onto, but instead Ruby just stuck her hands in her pockets. She was likely just imagining it. Weiss just nodded as they started making their way to the door. She needed to see about redesigning her own combat skirt to have pockets.

“Yes, it was a good experience, Ruby,” Weiss finally spoke up. “I don’t know how effective using my rapier would be as you’re speeding past Grimm. Once you reached a certain speed, though, I was able to look around enough to place glyphs. It definitely bears practicing if we want to incorporate it into any tactics.”

Ruby perked up even more at this appraisal and spent the rest of the walk back to the dorm rattling off different thoughts on where to place glyphs and angles they could use to attack different opponents.

Returning to the dorm to discover no sign of Yang or Blake, they both checked their scrolls. Blake had messaged them only five minutes ago that they were headed out to get a table for the four of them.

“Well, I suppose we should get ready ourselves. We should have just enough time between the airship ride and however long the wait is.” Weiss hung Myrtenaster, sheath and all, off the end of her and Ruby’s deathtrap of a bunk bed.

“You can go ahead and shower first, Weiss. I don’t mind waiting a bit longer.”

“No, it’s fine. Since we’re going out, I’ll use the extra time to pick an outfit.” Weiss also didn’t want Ruby to see she’d held onto a rose petal, having no reasonable excuse for picking one up. She was surprised it hadn’t disappeared yet, having expected it to dissolve on their walk back. “You’re usually pretty quick in the shower anyway. Take your time though, no need to rush on my account.”

“Okiedokie!” Ruby quickly gathered a change of clothes and entered the bathroom. Just as Weiss was removing her boots she heard music trickle out of the bathroom and glanced over. Ruby had left the door open a crack. Again.

It wasn’t much, but after discovering Weiss had a taste for a wide variety of music, Ruby had been doing things like that whenever Weiss was around. When confronted about the bathroom door by Yang, Ruby had said it helped maintain airflow into the bathroom so she didn’t feel like she was suffocating. Weiss was pretty sure Yang hadn’t really believed her sister. Especially since Yang had subtly, i.e. not-so-subtly, shot a look at Weiss at the time. This was after Yang had herself heard Weiss sing and the reason she’d noticed the door being cracked in the first place was because Weiss had been unconsciously bouncing her leg to the music that had been playing.

By this point, Weiss just accepted the kind act as part of Ruby’s nature. Shaking her head and sighing wistfully, Weiss turned her thoughts to getting ready. Finally opening her hand, she ran a finger over the white and red rose petal once more before setting it on her pillow.

A couple of short songs later, Weiss had an outfit picked out and was basically ready to shower whenever Ruby was finished. Since it was supposed to get chilly later in the day, she started looking for a light jacket when she heard Ruby’s scroll start to play the next song. She hadn’t been paying it much attention; she’d heard just about everything Ruby had music-wise. Or she thought she’d had.

Part-way through, she realized that while she didn’t know the song, she certainly recognized the melody.

“THAT’S THE SONG,” Weiss half shouted, half accused. Then she blinked in surprise. Weiss had just been examining her jackets on the other side of the room. The next thing she was cognizant of was that she was standing just inside the bathroom door where Ruby had been showering.

Had been showering.

Weiss hadn’t heard the shower turn off, the sound being drowned out by the music. She thanked her unconscious self that her first instinct had been to glare accusingly at the device playing the song. But now that she was aware of her surroundings again, she couldn’t help but notice Ruby.

Ruby, who was mercifully wrapped in a towel, frozen midstep as she’d been exiting the shower.

Weiss tried to look away.  _ Someone strike me down… Her legs! _ Looking away did no good because Weiss could just as easily see Ruby reflected in the mirror. Ruby leaving the door cracked had kept it from completely fogging over. A fact Weiss was currently both thanking and cursing. Since she couldn’t effectively look away immediately, Weiss figured it’d be easier to look Ruby directly in the eye to avoid letting her gaze wander. She’d figured wrong. Cue blushing.exe.

Both of them being shocked and slightly embarrassed at the sight of Ruby in a towel, Weiss tried to regain her composure and apologize.

Weiss’s eyes blew out wide, despite them dilating, and she quickly spun on her heels. “Sorry!” Weiss managed to move out of the doorway slightly. Blushing furiously, she realized she should probably try to explain. “That song has been stuck in my head for weeks now. I—um. I’ll let you—uh—get dressed. I’ll just… be out here.” As she shut the door behind her, Weiss furiously tried to think of anything else. Brief as it was, her brain would surely start to hyperfixate on what she saw. How was a collarbone so attractive? It also made sense for Ruby to have incredibly sculpted legs, but… It was the lack of tights. That must be it.

Weiss gulped as the image appeared in her mind again. Not good. This was extremely not good. She hadn’t even let Ruby say anything. Now she was horrified by what Ruby might say after emerging from the bathroom. Or would it be worse if Ruby said nothing? At least Weiss had her own shower after, so, hopefully, the two of them could brush past it.

Before she was really ready, Weiss heard Ruby open the bathroom door. She wasn’t anything like done freaking out, but with Ruby done, she should really get showered so they could leave sooner. Seeing as even glancing in Ruby’s direction was liable to begin another round of stammering and blushing, Weiss hurriedly grabbed her clothes and walked—she certainly did not run—into the bathroom. Before she got all the way there, though, Ruby spoke up. Polite etiquette demanded Weiss try to look Ruby’s way.

“It’s, uh, ‘Polaroid.’ The song. It’s called ‘Polaroid’ by Imagine Dragons. Yang kinda got me hooked a while back. I can get you some of their songs later, if you like.” Ruby was barely looking at Weiss, seemingly enthralled with fiddling with the ends of her shirt and playing with the zipper on her pocket. Weiss wasn’t doing much better, on top of the lingering embarrassment, Ruby looked rather cute wearing something besides her combat skirt. The clothes were fairly plain, but the simplicity just made more of Ruby shine through.

Weiss cleared her throat and forced her gaze to not linger on Ruby’s slightly exposed collarbone.  _ It’s a modest, but well-fitted shirt. Calm down and respond. _ “That sounds great. I feel like I haven’t been able to add to my music collection in a while. Mostly, I’m just glad that I can listen to the whole thing. Maybe now it won’t be stuck in my head and I can have some peace. I swear all I could remember was the melody of the chorus and the part with the title in it.”

Ruby chuckled nervously and grabbed her cloak, only to drape it over her arms and hide her fidgeting hands in it. “That’s probably my fault. I got into a music rut lately and have probably been listening to it and humming along a lot. I’m really sorry you got it stuck in your head. I’ll… I’ll try to tone it down.”

“No, it’s fine. I just couldn’t remember where I’d heard it so I had no way of finding out what it was. It’s a nice song and if you want to listen to it or anything else on repeat, well, I certainly don’t have room to judge.” Weiss didn’t want Ruby to stifle herself. She didn’t care if she got whole albums stuck in her head until she hated them. There was no way she was going to let Ruby think she’d done something wrong when she clearly hadn’t.

Ruby seemed to have recovered and they had hopefully gotten past the awkwardness that was the cause of this conversation. “Oh? What kinds of songs do you like to listen to on repeat?” 

Weiss hadn’t realized she’d let that slip-up out. Ruby really did have a way of getting through her filter. “I. Well…” Weiss tried to stall. Thankfully, Ruby’s scroll went off. “Ask me again later. You should answer that and I should shower. That’s probably Yang and Blake wondering where we are.” Weiss felt emboldened. By what, she couldn’t say, but she added, “And if you have a headphone splitter, maybe I’ll show you some of the songs I like.”

Not wanting to waste any more time, Weiss closed the bathroom door, only catching a glimpse of the silly grin on Ruby’s face as the girl pulled out her scroll to answer it. Weiss pulled out her own scroll and found “Polaroid” online and cued it up as she started her shower. Now, maybe, she could focus on something besides this song bouncing around in her head.

Like how in Remnant she was going to talk to Ruby about her feelings.

Having finished disrobing, Weiss pulled the curtain back and stepped into the shower. Immediately, her nostrils were assaulted by the smell of Ruby’s hair products. The strawberry and rose fragrances mingled together in a very pleasing way. She let the aroma enfold her a moment longer before reaching for the shampoo. Her hand hovered, however briefly, over Ruby’s before grabbing her own. _ Even if it would be like she was hugging me all the time, there is no good way to explain that when Ruby asks _ .  _ I am  _ not _ that thirsty. _ Weiss cursed Yang for ever explaining what that word meant.

Her mind chose that moment to bring back the image she’d gotten when barging in not even 10 minutes ago. Weiss nearly dropped her shampoo bottle. It was a good thing she had set the song to repeat, because she had just missed most of it in the time it took her to recover.

Weiss was in trouble, but she honestly couldn’t care less. She was starting to accept that it was the best kind of trouble to be in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thank for the betas. Even though they have their own shit going on, they came through to help get me back on track.
> 
> [PhoenixCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixCat) and [Matchappreciated](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matchappreciated)
> 
> Cat during editing: I hate her weapon right now... It just looks like a jumble of letters because I am tired af.  
> Me: Myrtenaster?  
> Cat: Yes, I hate it. It looks like nasty. It will now be referred to as Mr. Nasty in my head now. I will not be taking any criticism.


	10. It Comes Back To You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to look at things with more of a Rose tinted perspective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay.
> 
> Enjoy!

Ruby was, to say the least, having a hard time. Thinking over Weiss bursting in through the bathroom door kept threatening to send her into a blushing mess. Remembering Weiss’ equally red face was attempting to make its case that maybe Weiss was similarly affected.

_That’s ridiculous. It’s embarrassing to walk in on anyone in the bathroom, especially since Weiss is usually so put together. It’s more likely that her impulsively opening the bathroom door is just adding to her own embarrassment._

The fact that Polaroid had been stuck in Weiss’ head was something though. Ruby was just about as embarrassed by that as she was that Weiss had seen her in only a towel. Ruby had thought she’d been more careful. Clearly her excessive playing and probably humming had gotten it to stick to Weiss a bit. At least it had only been playing on her scroll. She probably would have self-combusted on the spot if Weiss had heard the altered version Ruby sometimes sang to herself.

It was bad enough as is that Yang knew about the word changes. That had happened a while ago, so Ruby was mostly over it. It didn’t change the fact that while Ruby could confidently tell herself she liked Weiss, she still felt like she was figuring herself out. Ruby would not be opposed to seeing what it would be like if they did date. It was just, well, she was happy being Weiss’ best friend.

Okay, she was worried that Weiss wouldn’t feel the same way or perhaps even be attracted to girls, but even still. Ruby was far more intuitive than people gave her credit for. She fumbled with words and meeting new people could be scary. That didn’t mean that once she did know someone that her ease and understanding stagnated. Ruby wasn’t sure if it had started because they would be stuck with each other for the next four years or something else. However, she did know that when Weiss declared she’d be the best teammate ever, Ruby felt the pathway open to her.

She had been so stressed and concerned about making friends and being a team leader that hearing that had been a breath of fresh air. Ruby hadn’t been convinced by Yang that it would be easy since everyone was two years older than her. Learning to grow into her own person and not lean so much on Yang had been daunting. Sure, Yang was still there and willing to help, but it wouldn’t be fair to rely on her all the time. They were both in a new environment, Yang had her own stuff to figure out too.

What Ruby quickly discovered was that she didn’t have to be as independent as she had assumed at first. She may be the leader, but that didn’t mean she had to make all the decisions on her own. With the effort made by Weiss, and some of the harsh prodding, Ruby not only realized she needed to step up her game, but she could also see the way to make it happen.

As they became a team and grew comfortable around each other, Ruby was able to lean on all of them for support. Weiss even more so than Yang at times. It wasn’t that she relied on anyone else entirely, but that they were literally in this together. Supporting one another was a natural extension of that. Well, it was when they worked together properly.

Ruby still had practically two years of school work to catch up on and learn to be a team leader on top of that. She was just never expected to shoulder it all alone. Part of her expected Ozpin wanted them to figure that out, but wouldn’t let them flounder if they needed nudging in the right direction.

The direction Ruby felt she was being nudged in now was towards Weiss. In fact, not long after their _not date_ to the bakery, part of her kept paying more attention to her white-haired partner than was strictly necessary. Problem was she hadn’t done anything about it. Ruby hadn’t thought to say anything at first, it had taken a little while for her to figure out why she was more focused on Weiss than anyone else. Once she did what was she to say?

_Hey Weiss, remember when you promised to be the best teammate ever? Or when you went to that fancy bakery with me? Well, because of all that stuff we do together, I’ve fallen in love with you! I don’t really know what to do about all of it, wanna make-out or cuddle or something?_

She might have gotten up the nerve to try _something_ like that, but there were a couple of issues. Ruby knew, or at least thought she knew, that a romantic relationship wasn’t what Weiss wanted/needed at the time. Weiss was opening up more and more as time passed and that was helping strengthen their team tremendously. Even so, Weiss’ attention always seemed solely focused on studying and the betterment of the team. Ruby felt the four of them becoming more of a family than just teammates and that was one the biggest sources of pride and satisfaction she had as a leader. 

Would kissing Weiss or cuddling with her be fun? Maybe. Ruby certainly wouldn’t say no if the situation arose, but that was different than trying to force the situation to happen. She was already pushing into Weiss’ personal space as it was. All the random hugs and dragging and pulling around was something that Ruby had just always done.

_Landing and jumping into friend’s arms isn’t unusual. Right?_

So, Ruby was plenty happy just being Weiss’ friend. Tamping down on the occasional times her mind wandered into the unknown wasn’t even all that difficult. There was so much going on with school and Ruby had a lot of catching up to do.

_But if I dated Weiss, she could help me study even more cause we’d probably hang-out together more._

Ruby drove thoughts like that away with video games and the desire of not having to take migraine medication. Her grades were doing quite well despite being behind. Besides, trying to study with Weiss’ vigor had not gone very well the few times they’d attempted it. They hung out together plenty, Ruby felt she could be there for Weiss just as effectively by being a friend. Knowing about the loneliness of Weiss’ past, Ruby wanted to always be there when Weiss needed someone.

_Everyone gets lonely. Weiss probably more so than others. And all those other couples you see seem really happy…_

That one had been cropping up more frequently once Blake and Yang had gotten together. Still, while Ruby would sometimes like to see what that experience was like, she didn’t want to blindside Weiss. The pull was there, _especially after reading some of Blake’s novels_ , but Ruby could not definitively say it was there for Weiss. There may have been times when she hugged Weiss more often, but in all honesty, she’d just grown up more touchy with those close to her.

_It felt really nice hugging Weiss._

Overall though, there’d only been a few times when Ruby had been sad to let go of a hug. When that happened, she’d just rough house a bit with Yang and the feeling would pass. And again, Weiss had never really shown any interest in a romantic relationship. Why should Ruby mess with a good thing?

_Maybe if she shows an interest in wanting to date, I could ask her then. I could get her some flowers and ask her out underneath the moon, maybe on a balcony somewhere just…_ sigh... _It’d be so romantic. That’s what Weiss deserves. Nothing less than the best._

Then there was the dance. Despite being fairly content with how things were, the dance may have gotten a bit more...conflated in Ruby’s mind. She didn’t know why she let Yang talk her into wearing those awful lady-stilts. However, apart from horrible footwear choices, the dance had been a very odd experience for her. Part of her, the romantic part, had gotten a bit swept up in the idea. Thankfully only Yang had caught on to that and she had been more occupied by Blake. In the time Yang had between helping Blake out and planning the party, there was some definite “Big Sister” pushing that happened.

* * *

“Wouldn’t that be weird though? I mean, of course it’d be weird. I’m weird and I’m the one who thought of it!” Ruby was wringing her hands and pacing back and forth in their dorm. All Yang had done was ask her if she was going with anyone to the dance.

“Ruby,” Yang exclaimed before pausing. Finally drawing her sister’s attention she continued, “Like I told you the first time you brought up the idea, if you think that’s something you want to pursue, go for it. You deserve to be happy; just try not to overthink it. If you feel you’re ready for more romantic-y things then take steps towards making it happen. Yeah, us being in the same dorm might be a little weird, but just because I’m around doesn’t mean I don’t want you to not try dating if that’s what you want.”

“Yeah, I know. But,” Ruby trailed off. She considered Yang’s point. Thinking of how she’d even attempt asking Weiss to the dance though. Ruby practically cringed at her hypothetical self. “Yeah… It’d be weird.”

* * *

With Weiss also being on the planning committee, Ruby also reasoned that she didn’t want to add more to her plate. It wouldn’t be the grand, romantic gesture she thought it should be, but with the prodding from Yang, Ruby had considered asking for a dance. She wasn’t going to make a huge deal out of it, Yang and Blake had danced and they hadn’t even been dating yet. Of course, then Ruby found out that Weiss had asked out the smooth-talking, blue-haired newcomer.

That was where the roller-coaster of emotions took off. Weiss hadn’t told anyone what happened, but her mood upon returning from asking out Neptune had been all the confirmation her family team needed. Weiss may have put on a stoic front for her team, but the effort to do so must have been immense. Either she never noticed the emotions warring in Ruby or Ruby deserved an award in stoicism.

Hearing that Weiss had wanted to ask Neptune out in the first place had been hard. Ruby pushed through in part because she’d never really expected Weiss to reciprocate in the first place. Also, when Yang had asked why and congratulated Weiss on taking the initiative, Weiss had said it was something her family would expect of her. That had taken most of the sting out, but Ruby still told herself she needed to accept that Weiss was probably straight. She had tried to not be annoyed or angry at Neptune. He seemed like a decent enough guy and it wasn’t like it was his fault she was jealous.

Weiss returning unsuccessful had been the real doozy though. Angry on behalf of her best friend; Neptune was clearly an idiot for passing on her partner. Downtrodden in line with Weiss’ own droopy mood. The jealous portion was now elated that Weiss’ wouldn’t have a date. That, in turn, naturally added on a heaping of guilt for being happy in any way that Weiss was clearly upset.

Looking back on the whole thing, Ruby was pretty sure the only reason Jaune had gotten to Neptune first was she had been busy sorting everything out in her head. Probably for the best. Neptune might have met the business end of Crescent Rose had the more heated emotions been given the reins.

Overall, the dance had been both physically and emotionally exhausting. Afterwards things had mostly gone back to the way things were. The end of second semester had gotten a bit crazy after the dance. There was still the White Fang and maybe some other baddies potentially looming on the horizon. Mostly though, they got to enjoy their break and let the certified Huntsmen and Huntresses handle things. By the time break was over, most everything seemed to have calmed down and with that, their second year kicked off smoothly.

Which was good. Ruby and her team were just students. They shouldn’t have to worry about the fate of the world just yet. They were allowed to have the time to worry about more mundane things. Like why, somehow, your partner seemed more strikingly beautiful than you remembered the last time you saw her a couple months ago.

_I may have to tell Ozpin to sign me up for more “extra credit” Grimm clearing. He’s the principal, they won’t fire him just because some second-years went off into Forever Fall._

_How?!?_ How _is Weiss that attractive? I’m quite certain I didn’t have it this bad before! Maybe I should talk with Yang again… I hope I can manage without her noticing._

Ruby did, in fact, manage. She liked to think it was because she was very skilled in masking her emotions when she wanted to. Yang had laughed and told her she was lucky that Weiss was oblivious. Ruby decided that blowing a raspberry at Yang for that comment was entirely justified. Regardless, Yang was still successful in getting Ruby to open up and vocalize the thoughts or feelings she had been ignoring.

* * *

“I don’t know,” Ruby relented and she scuffed her shoe against the floor. “I just want to be her friend and hang out with her all the time.” Getting no input from Yang, Ruby let herself ramble. “And like, I want her to be happy, if that means she dates Neptune or someone else that’s fine. Just as long as we stay best friends. Friends can stay platonic and still hangout all the time, right?”

Yang took Ruby’s hopeful, and quite frankly, desperate look and nodded slowly, easing her way into Ruby’s thought process. “Well,” Yang paused, carefully choosing her words before voicing her thought. “If that’s the case, have you considered if you want to date anyone else? Or if you’d prefer staying single that’s cool too. I guess it just comes down to what you want your future to look like,” Yang said with a shrug. She leaned against the frame of her bed and left her posture open, welcoming Ruby’s thoughts.

Ruby’s face twitched as she thought about it. Yang’s ideas weren’t altogether bad ones, they just didn’t feel right for her. Her face really told how she felt— _Eh?_ — She didn’t want her sister to think she didn’t appreciate the help though.

“Is for the future to look kinda similar to now a bad thing?” Ruby wondered out loud. Hearing out loud, she grimaced at how it sounded. “Or is that too much to ask? Like, obviously you and Blake are probably in for the long haul. Which is awesome! So you’ll probably have your own space at some point. Weiss and I could just be roommates nearby or something, right?” Ruby tried to play it off as a genuine query, but based on the amused sympathy on Yang’s face, even she knew how it sounded. Which Yang promptly proved.

Yang chuckled lightly, “You realize that just sounds like you want to be her girlfriend eventually right?” Yang only chuckled louder at Ruby’s reaction.

Ruby’s cheeks puffed out in indignation, but that couldn’t stop the blush from overtaking her face. “But it doesn’t _have_ to be like that! Friends can remain platonic and still live together.” Crossing her arms, Ruby resumed her pouty face.

Yang just shook her head in amusement. “If that’s the case, then you still need to bring it up with Weiss.”

* * *

Ruby disliked how right Yang had been. She was managing moderately well. Then she’d heard Yang playing her Smoke and Mirrors album. Over the course of the first year, Ruby had mostly gotten the song out of her system. Now it seemed that almost every chance Yang got there was a Imagine Dragons song being played. Ruby tried to revoke Yang’s music selection privileges, but team training had been on a set rotation for too long at that point.

Seeing Weiss change up her combat outfit once in a while only marginally helped. Or rather, it was both a blessing and a curse. Ruby was now helplessly fixated on how nice Weiss’s red accents were, especially on her bolero. But even when she chose her new, blue ensemble Ruby was torn between how good the new outfit looked and missing the aspects of the original. The lack of the extra layer around her shoulders just emphasized how much fencing did for Weiss’ figure.

Whatever Yang’s goal had been, Polaroid inevitably made it back into Ruby’s regular listening rotation. Now here they were, with Weiss barging into the bathroom because Ruby had totally been playing Polaroid way too much. The flight into Vale to meet up with Blake and Yang had been a bit awkward, to say the least.

By the time they’d reached the restaurant, Ruby and Weiss had resumed their usual banter. All it really took was Ruby squeeing over some weapon parts displayed in a shop window, Weiss calling her a dolt. And just like that, they’d found their rhythm again.

Ruby was grateful Yang had gotten cups of water for the table. She had done quite a bit of running during training and hadn’t replaced nearly enough liquid. Looking around for the restroom, Ruby glanced at the extensive menu lying in front of her.

Her bladder made the easy choice for her, going from a request to a demand. After telling them to just order her chicken tenders if the waitress came back before she returned, Ruby went to head nature's call.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have chugged your entire glass of water, Ruby.” She was pretty sure Weiss was mostly teasing, regardless, she felt the need to defend herself.

“It’s dry out and I was thirsty, excuse me for living,” Ruby said as she blew a raspberry at her partner.

Weiss just rolled her eyes and said, “Dolt,” bringing an easy smile to Ruby’s face.

At the same time, Ruby was pretty sure she heard Yang say something along the lines of “Yeah, you are,” under her breath. When Ruby looked over as she got up, her sister had a far too “innocent” look on her face. Not wanting to get into that topic with Weiss present, Ruby elected to blow a raspberry at Yang as well before finally heading to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, as she looked around to find where the heck their table was, she gratefully saw Weiss walking her way. Weiss mentioned that, having chosen what she liked to order, she was giving the other two a moment. Blake and Yang had apparently been making doe eyes at each other, since she preferred to wash her hands after touching menus anyway, Weiss had told them to actually start thinking about what they wanted to eat _from the restaurant_. Ruby doubted they’d actually start making out, so having seen the table from where Weiss had been approaching, she headed back.

With both their backs facing the restrooms, it did seem like Blake and Yang were having a somewhat hushed conversation. Not that they had to speak very loud considering how close they sat to each other. Slowing down, Ruby tried to catch what they were saying, more out of her own propriety than to eavesdrop; if Yang was being lewd she didn’t want to hear more than necessary. When she heard what sounds like her and Weiss’ names, Ruby determined it was safe to approach.

She hears Yang mention something about the sidelong glances and blushing Ruby had been doing when she and Weiss had first sat down. Now intent on making Yang keep quiet about the whole thing, Ruby crossed the last few feet. Just as she enters their view Yang gets cut off by what Ruby would guess was a nudge from Blake.

“I think we should mention to Ren at least that they—Oh, hey Ruby! The waitress hasn’t come back yet, so if you wanted to spend more time deliberating you can.” Yang had on one her larger than life, mega-watt smiles. Ruby wasn’t so easily fooled by her sister’s tactics though.

Briefly glancing at the menus, Ruby made a dismissive noise and instead she returned Yang’s smile with one of her own. “No, I think I’m good. I’ve never been here, and if they manage to mess up chicken tenders,” Ruby trailed off and she saw Yang start to relax, thinking she’d gotten away with… whatever it was Ruby had barely overheard. Narrowing her eyes at Yang, she honed in on her prey, taking on a practically comical, interrogative posture.

“I’d rather know what you think you should be mentioning to Ren and why. Especially since you were talking about me and Weiss.” She knew she’d hit her mark when Yang immediately looked away.

“I—uh—don’t know what you’re talking about, Sis. Blake and I were just… Just talking about something on the menu! Yeah! Something that Ren mentioned we should try. It looked good so we were going to thank him.”

“My dear sister,” Ruby paused dramatically. “You would lie to your own flesh and blood.” She clasped a hand over her chest at the alleged affont. “In front of your girlfriend no less! Positively shameful. Blake, I can’t believe you put up with this.” Blake just shrugged her shoulders, the smirk on her face saying she was enjoying being an observer of this conversation rather than a participant.

“Blakey knows I could never lie to her,” Yang said as she turned towards her amused other half. “I mean, look at that face,” It was fairly surprising to everyone at the table that when Yang squished Blake’s cheeks in demonstration that Blake’s only response was to raise a single, amused eyebrow. “You on the other hand.” Turning back to Ruby, Yang continued, “You’ll never get me to talk, Little Red.” With a self satisfied smirk, Yang crossed her arms and left the challenge in the air.

Ruby _Hmmm_ ’ed and stroked an imaginary beard. Her eyes flicking between the two girls, finally she returned with a grin of her own. “Hey Blake, so this one time, when Yang was thirteen—” Ruby felt Yang’s hand slap over her mouth before her eyes registered the movement. Barely letting out a muffled _Ow_ , Ruby grinned even wider underneath Yang’s hand.

“That’s enough outta you! Ren is in charge so we can’t really talk about it. It’s just a fun little… Thought experiment. Yeah. That’s all.” Yang tried to level a stern look at Ruby as she reluctantly removed her hand and sat back in her seat.

Ruby considered that for a moment, hearing Blake let out a small snort, she pressed further. “Well, if that’s all it is, then there should be no problem if I go ask him myself.”

Seeming to have gotten sufficient amusement from the two sisters’ antics, Blake finally spoke up. “There’s a bet going Ruby, on whether you or Weiss will crack first and confess your _painfully obvious_ feelings. Not exactly a ‘thought experiment.’”

Yang immediately tried to shush her and look around, as if someone watching would care about their conversation. “Okay, yes. Thank you, Babe,” Yang said hurriedly. “Fine, yes, it’s a bet. That you should ask Ren about before anything else! If we say anymore it could invalidate everything. Can’t have that, so, uh, definitely going and talking to him before you make any big decisions! Also, you can’t tell Weiss!”

“You know Ren isn’t gonna cover for you, right? The damage is done and it’s kinda your fault, _babe_.” Blake chuckled at the scandalized sound Yang made and picked her menu backup to feign being done.

Yang quickly turned entirely towards Blake and her new challenge, acting like the volly she’d just been having with Ruby was no longer relevant. Getting over her mock hurt, she tried to turn the tables back on Blake, saying she’d actually given away the information.

It was clear to even Ruby, however, that not only was Blake winning, but that “winning” wasn’t actually the goal for either of them. Ruby wasn’t really sure this was what all relationships were like, but she was convinced at this point that half of their flirting derived from Yang sticking her foot in her mouth and then being over the top about removing it. Ruby did find it rather sweet that Yang went to such lengths to make Blake laugh.

_Weiss has “painfully obvious” feelings for me? Yeah, right. They must be seeing things. Though, if there is a bet, that might explain Yang’s odd behavior._

Finally satisfied with her answer, Ruby sat back with a smile. She’d worry about the nature of this so-called “bet” later. Feeling like she already surpassed her daily allotment of embarrassment earlier, Ruby relaxed and enjoyed Yang trying to get herself out of the small hole she’d dug herself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These hopeless dorks... I love them.  
> Kinda fell down the Ruby rabbit hole a bit, meant to get to her conversation with Ren but... such is life.  
> Though, I must admit, I kinda wanted to have the possibility for community input.
> 
> Bet confirmed. Ruby will be off to speak with Ren about what the heck is going on. Now armed with knowledge, Ruby may begin noticing or remembering some times when people had acted a bit strange around her or Weiss. 
> 
> So, if you have any thoughts on who bet one way or another and what totally obvious thing they did to try swaying Ruby or Weiss into confessing first feel free to comment. If I use it I'll do a call out thanks and list (unless you'd rather I not mention you). I'm in a WhiteRose discord so I'll be putting it out there for them too.  
> It will likely just be what Ruby picks up on, though if you have any that Weiss would've noticed I might put those in a later chapter.  
> If you look back at Chapter 2 I've kinda already got Nora and Yang trying to break Weiss by making sure Polaroid was on her mind (though that doesn't necessarily mean they both are betting that Weiss would confess first). My current thoughts are mainly just Blake, Yang, team JNPR, and team CVFY but you guys might find something funny that I didn't consider. (Not planning on using any professors though).  
> The idea is light and fluffy.  
> Thank you so much in advance! I really appreciate the support you have given me. (yes, even those who just read ;) I'm amazed how much traffic this fic has gotten)
> 
> My writing wouldn't be nearly as good without my betas! Love 'em lots.  
> [PhoenixCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixCat) and [Matchappreciated](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matchappreciated)


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